Youthful star

Dongbei Piano, where Zhang's career started 35 years ago, was based in the port city of Yingkou in the northeastern province of Liaoning. In 1986, when Zhang and 39 classmates graduated from a local vocational school, having majored in piano manufacture, they were assigned to the piano factory's 1,000-plus workforce.

"It was the best job you could get in Yingkou at the time," the 54-year-old recalled.

The company, founded in 1952, was once one of China's largest piano producers, selling its products in more than 20 countries and regions.

Trucks were always lined up to transport pianos. Meanwhile, taxis stood outside every payday, while the team leaders reminded the happy employees not to stay out too late having fun because they had to work the next day.

Zhang, ingenious and well-trained, quickly stood out from her colleagues. At age 21, she became one of three workers among 100 employees to be given a raise in recognition of their outstanding performance.

Zhou Xiong, 59, who joined Dongbei Piano in 1983, said: "We were not in the same workshop, but her name was often mentioned. I was not convinced at the time: could a young woman who had just left school be so good?"

Zhang was too busy to hear about Zhou's doubts. The company often called on her to repair pianos for customers, and she never let them down. "I had studied and participated in the whole process of piano production, from design to assembly. I knew what the problems might be," she said.

The trips opened a window to the outside world that fascinated Zhang.

"I was surprised to see a woman driving a (Volkswagen) Santana in Beijing in 1993," she said.

Eventually, she volunteered to move to the sales department, and in 2001, she was dispatched to Shanghai to take charge of the East China market.

"I was greeted by bad news and good news. The bad news was I could not sell a single piano because our instruments were languishing in dealers' warehouses," Zhang said.

When she visited the warehouses and examined the pianos, she discovered the reason: due to the difference in climate, pianos made in the dry north did not adapt well to the humid climate in the south.

"The good news was that I could fix them all," she said.

Zhang traveled from one warehouse to another, repairing pianos. To root out the problems, she proposed improving the manufacturing process and got more rebates for the dealers.

She did not earn a penny for the company, but she lost 65,000 yuan (about $7,850 in 2001) in her first year as a salesperson. By the third year, Zhang was ranked second in the company's sales.