In 1998, he met Shi Yanchun at Faxing Temple. Shi helped restore and reconstruct more than 1,000 cultural artifacts for national key cultural relics units and religious departments in Shanxi.

"That was when I started learning professional knowledge about painted clay sculptures. We talked about the art form at night," Zhang says.

Since then, he began reading related books, including The Path of Beauty and Essentials of Buddhism: Questions and Answers. He has also grasped opportunities to communicate with experts visiting Faxing Temple.