Background
Zhang Ao was born on January 16, 1991 in Taiyüan, Shanxi, China.
张奥
Zhang Ao was born on January 16, 1991 in Taiyüan, Shanxi, China.
Zhang joined Changsha Ginde youth team system in the early year and was promoted to first team squad in 2010. He made his senior debut on 24 July 2010, in a 4–1 away defeat against Shandong Luneng Taishan. He played four matches in the 2010 league season, as Changsha Ginde finished the bottom of the league and relegation to China League One.
In February 2011, the club moved to Shenzhen as the club"s name changed into Shenzhen Phoenix, Zhang chose to stay in the club
Zhang made 11 league appearances in the season. The club were then bought by Chinese property developers Guangzhou R&F and moved to Guangzhou in June 2011 and won promotion back to the Super League at the first attempt.