[7] Zhu is one of a number of foreign-born athletes who chose to become naturalised Chinese citizens or who gained permanent residency status in China to compete at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

[2] She trained with five Chinese ice dancers in a group led by Chen Lu and five foreign coaches up through December.

[20] Zhu was assigned to compete at the 2020 Skate Canada International, but the event was canceled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

[23] She began the season at the 2021 CS Asian Open Trophy, the Olympic test event, finishing in seventh place.

"[25] Zhu was chosen as the lone women's singles entry for the Chinese Olympic team over Chen Hongyi.

[26] Her selection drew criticism from Chinese skating fans, who felt stars like Chen and Texas-born Ashley Lin would be better suited.

With the women as the last of the four short program segments, the Chinese team was in third place going in, behind only the United States and ROC.

Zhu fell on her jump combination, crashing into the boards of the rink, and singled a planned triple loop.

[30][31] The performances drew considerable criticism from Weibo users, who also questioned her privileged background and family ties, lack of fluency in Mandarin Chinese, and selection over a native athlete.

[20] Prior to the season, it was announced that Zhu had begun training in Beijing full-time and that former pair skater, Tong Jian, had become her new coach.