Zhang Lijia

Fields of expertise:: Beijing / Journalism and social Development of China

Languages: English, Chinese

Zhang Lijia is a rocket factory girl turned writer, journalist and social commentator. She was born and raised on the banks of the Yangtze River. At 16, she was pulled out of school to work at a missile factory. Only after she went to England in 1990 did she dare to pursue her childhood dream by studying journalism. Her features, often very human stories about the plight of China’s “little people”, have been published in South China Morning Post, Far Eastern Economic Review, Japan Times, The Independent, Newsweek and The New York Times. In 1999, Zhang Lijia co-authored China Remembers, an oral history of contemporary China. Her widely acclaimed English-language memoir, “Socialism is Great!” chronicled her decade-long experience at the rocket factory. Her journey from factory worker to writer reflects the great transformation undergone by China itself. She is revising her first English novel, Lotus, on prostitution in modern day China. Lijia is the recipient of the prestigious fellowship on the International Writer’s Program at the University of Iowa. She has been featured on the BBC, Channel 4, CNN, CBS and National Public Radio, among others.

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