Prior to turning professional Zhang featured in Asian Players Tour Championship events from 2012 to 2015, as well as being a semi-finalist in the 2015 ACBS Asian Snooker Championship. He made losing wildcard appearances at the 2014 Shanghai Masters and 2015 China Open.
Zhang earned a two-year professional World Snooker Tour card for the 2015/2016 and 2016/2017 seasons after his performances in the 2014/2015 Asian Tour events, with the highlight being a quarter-final appearance in the 2015 Xuzhou Open where he beat professionals Jimmy Robertson and Dechawat Poomjaeng, seeing him finish 25th on the Order of Merit.
