Zhang Jian Long was born in 1982 in  Nanzhou, Gansu Province, and in 2004, graduated from the Fine Arts Department of Nanyang  University, Henan Province. His graduation art work was published in the 2003 Annual Works of China Fine Arts Academies.

In  “Playtime”  series of paintings, Zhang attempts to look upon the world from the unique perspective of a child’s eyes, and then ponders the groan of a human soul twisted by modern civilization. Through depicting an ideal union of heaven and man, in which people live with the innocence and joy of children at play, free from the confines of modern society, Zhang Jianlong’s paintings show us the richness of the human spirit’s full, unbridled potential while also exploring possibilities for diverse cultural development beyond the canvas.

Zhang's  paintings - with their snowcapped mountains, broad plains, childlike innocence, hardships, helplessness, and smiles.  There is happiness, there are struggles, and there is freedom.  The human is displayed alongside the natural, tranquility alongside conflict.  The intensification of these contradictions allows the artist to gradually progress towards rational consideration, and to reveal a search for deeper meaning on a simple canvas.