After graduating from elementary school in rural Hengdian, future actress Zhang Mei'e worked as common farmer and factory painter, raising silkworm cocoons. In 1996 Hengdian began to transform into big cinema city, which attracted many crews from the whole China, so Zhang Mei'e decided to put aside her farmwork and found a job in a movie studio 100 kilometers away from home. With the help of a fellow villager Zhang Mei'e found a job in repairing obsolete buildings in Hengdian Film and Television Base. At 60 years old, she debuted as actress in Stephen Chow's Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons.