[8] He swifted his position from attacking midfielder to left-back and quickly established himself within the team,[9] playing in 17 games within his debut season as Yunnan won promotion to the first-tier.
Zhou signed a pre-contract with Chinese Super League side Qingdao Etsong Hainiu in December 2003 after Yunnan Hongta accepted a transfer fee of ¥6 million.
[11] However, after Yunnan Hongta was sold and merger with Chongqing Lifan, Qingdao Etsong Hainiu successfully reduced his transfer fee to ¥2.8 million on 17 January 2004.
On 26 October 2014, he was booked by offending the referee in a 1–0 away win over Guangzhou Evergrande,[16] making him the first player to receive 100 yellow cards in the Chinese first-tier league.
[5] On 10 May 2015, he claimed a goal against Changchun Yatai to set the record of the oldest native player to score in the Chinese Super League at 36 years and 94 days.
[20] He quickly established himself within the team's defence, scoring two goals in 25 appearances, and helped win the division championship to promoted back to the Chinese Super League with the club.