Zhang Jie is a professor of the School of Architecture at Tsinghua University and the dean of the Tsinghua Heritage Conservation Institute. Zhang is the vice-chairman of the Historical and Cultural Cities Academic Committee for the Urban Planning Society of China, the head of the Historical and Cultural Streets Committee for the Chinese Society of Cultural Relics, and the executive member of the Historic Towns and Villages Committee for the International Committee of the International Council on Monuments and Sites.

Zhang has also been in charge of many key historical and cultural protection and planning projects, including the city of Guangzhou in the Guangdong province and the Three Lanes and Seven Alleys in Fuzhou, Fujian province. Zhang is a winner of a dozen national and international awards.