Portrait of female interpreter for Chinese leaders

Zhang Lu, an interpreter for top Chinese leaders such as Premier Li Keqiang and former Premier Wen Jiabao, not only made a big impression with his interpreting skills but also with his attractive appearance and discreet demeanor.

Zhang Lu often interprets for Chinese leaders on foreign trips (Photo: SCMP)

Zhang Lu, 39, was greeted like a rock star during her visit to Hong Kong on April 8. Girls and even boys called her their idol, the South China Morning Post reported.

Hundreds of Hong Kong university students, who consider Zhang a role model, gathered at the Chinese University of Hong Kong to listen to her talk on April 8. Some even traveled from Guangdong province to Hong Kong just to hear her speak.

Dressed in an elegant suit, Zhang, with her tall, slim figure, immediately attracted everyone's attention as she entered the auditorium.

“We are both diplomats and professional interpreters. It’s like we have to combine these two tasks into one,” Zhang said as she introduced her job as an interpreter at China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Unlike her former boss Fu Ying or her predecessors Zhang Hanzhi and Wang Hairong - two interpreters who worked under leader Mao Zedong - Zhang's name is widely known on the Chinese internet.

Zhang became an online sensation in 2010 when he brilliantly translated a classical literary work that former Premier Wen Jiabao mentioned in a speech at a press conference.

Zhang's willingness to share details about her work and career experiences with everyone makes her even more endearing.

Zhang initially planned to become a teacher after graduating from the international law department of China Foreign Affairs University in Beijing in 2000. Zhang only changed his career plans after being recruited to work in the translation department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Zhang once interpreted for former Prime Minister Wen Jiabao (Photo: SCMP)

She has served as an interpreter for top Chinese leaders during numerous overseas trips and high-level international negotiations, including the 2009 Copenhagen climate talks and the G20 summits.

Zhang said her work has become increasingly busy as China has stepped up its diplomatic outreach in recent years. 2015 was her busiest year, with Zhang making 54 overseas trips with Chinese leaders.

“The truth is, when you work for heads of state… it means that every time you speak, you translate, people listen to you not only as an individual voice, but also as the voice of the government,” Zhang shared.

She said her most memorable experience was as an interpreter at the six-party talks aimed at finding a peaceful solution to Pyongyang's nuclear program, with the participation of China, the United States, Japan, Russia, South Korea and North Korea, from 2003 to 2008.

“It involves very interesting and challenging diplomatic negotiations,” Zhang shared.

Because of the sensitivity of the issue, the language used by each participating country is considered the official language in the negotiations, so each delegation brings its own interpreters.

Zhang said that whenever the head of a country's delegation paused while speaking, all the interpreters from different countries immediately interpreted at the same time. "You can imagine how long it takes one person to complete each sentence," Zhang shared.

Zhang advises students aspiring to pursue her career that the key to being a good interpreter is not to translate word for word, but instead to understand the full meaning of what the speaker is trying to convey.

She also advises trainee interpreters to be bold and confident. “No one cares about you,” Zhang joked, despite her own impressive performance abroad.

According to Dan Tri