In May 1997, he became deputy secretary of
Wuhan Municipal Committee of the
Communist Youth League, rising to secretary in October 1997. He served as governor of
Jianghan District from August 2002 to November 2004, and party secretary, the top political position in the district, from August 2004 to December 2006. He was appointed secretary-general of CCP Wuhan Municipal Committee in December 2006 and was admitted to member of the standing committee of the CCP Wuhan Municipal Committee, the city's top authority. In March 2007, he was named acting mayor of
Xianning, replacing . He was installed as mayor in August. In March 2008, he was promoted to be party secretary, concurrently serving as chairman of its People's Congress since June of that same year. In June 2012, he was promoted to member of the standing committee of the CCP Hubei Provincial Committee, the province's top authority. He was party secretary of
Yichang in July 2012, and held that office until December 2016. In December 2012, he was promoted to become executive vice governor, a position he held until January 2021, when he was appointed chairman of the
Hubei Provincial Committee of the
Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the province's top political advisory body. ==Career in Guangdong==