Zhang Yanling (1932) was a native of Shanghai. In 1948, he studied at the Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts and graduated from the Oil Painting Department of the Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts in 1958. He has served as editor of the Tianjin People's Fine Arts Publishing House, as professor of the Tianjin Academy of Arts and Crafts, and as senior artist in the creative room.

In his youth, he specialized in the techniques of Chinese ink painting, and later used Chinese painting techniques to combine with oil paintings.