Zhang Zonggu, male, Han nationality, is a native of Mancheng, Hebei Province. He graduated from Beijing University in 1948 and received an associate doctorate from the Soviet Union Moscow Geological Surveys College in 1955.
Zhao Zonggu participated in the surveying of petroleum geology, railway engineering geology, and non-metal minerals and the investigation and study of large-scale water intake project. He also participated in drafting the hydrogeologic engineering of the 12-year national science and technology development plan.
Zhao also presided over many national key research projects. He studied the aerial features of loess, engineering geological properties, and Quaternary period geologic features. He worked as the editor-in-chief of the "Hydrogeologic Collective Drawings of P.R. China, Loess Plateauground" feature maps (1:500,000), "Geologic Map of Quaternary period (1:2,500,000) and Manual of China and Adjacent Sea Area", "Asia Hydrogeologic Drawings" (1:80,000,000), wrote several monographs including "Chinese Loess", "Quaternary Period Geology of China."