Zhang was born in Jiangdu, Jiangsu Province, in January 1950. He joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in March 1972 and entered the workforce in July 1970. He graduated from Jiangsu Agricultural College with a major in agronomy and later pursued postgraduate studies at the Central Party School, specializing in scientific socialism.[2] In his early career, Zhang worked at the Laoshan Forest Farm in Nanjing and later served as a worker and youth league cadre at the Jiangsu “May 7th” Cadre School Crystal Silicon Factory and Qiaotou Farm. From 1973 to 1977, he studied agronomy at Jiangsu Agricultural College. After graduation, he was assigned to the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Agriculture and Forestry, where he worked in various offices. Between April and October 1980, he was sent to Aichi Prefecture, Japan, for training in agricultural modernization and facility cultivation techniques.[3]
Zhang rose through the provincial agricultural system, serving as deputy director of the personnel department, then as director of the Agricultural Bureau of Jiangsu Province and deputy director of the Provincial Agricultural Technology Extension Center. From 1986 to 1987, he held a concurrent post as deputy party secretary of Jiangdu. In January 1990, he became deputy secretary of the Communist Youth League Jiangsu Provincial Committee.[4]
In the 1990s, Zhang served as deputy director of the Jiangsu Provincial Planning and Economic Commission and later returned to the provincial Department of Agriculture and Forestry as director and party secretary. From 1997, he concurrently served as head of the Jiangsu Provincial Rural Work Department and director of the Provincial Rural Development Research Center.[2] In August 2001, he was appointed party secretary of Yancheng and subsequently also served as chairman of the Yancheng Municipal People's Congress Standing Committee.[5]
In January 2006, Zhang was promoted to vice governor of Jiangsu Province and became a member of the provincial government's party leadership group. In January 2008, he was elected vice chairman of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and later served as its deputy party secretary.[6]
Zhang was a delegate to the 16th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, a member of the 11th Jiangsu Provincial Party Committee, a delegate to the 10th Jiangsu Provincial People's Congress, and a standing committee member of the 10th Jiangsu Provincial Committee of the CPPCC.[7]