Starting with Zhang Zequn, many viewers were deeply impressed by this familiar face from the CCTV Spring Festival Gala. Having been deeply involved in CCTV for 31 years, he has stood on the stage of hosting the Spring Festival Gala many times, and he often appears in various large-scale evening parties and special interview programs. He is calm and dignified, his conversation is sincere and sincere, and his professional abilities are highly recognized. He is a well-deserved CCTV celebrity. Now 61 years old, he has officially retired from the main station, taking off the microphone that has been with him for half his life, and his career has come to a successful end. However, there is a heart-wrenching past hidden in his life story. He lived alone in Beijing in his later years, which made many netizens sigh.
When Zhang Zequn was young, he was devoted to work, running around in program recordings and party preparations all year round. His romantic affairs were delayed again and again, until he was 48 years old, and was introduced by a friend to Hu Jiana, who used to work at Zhuhai TV Station. As both media practitioners, the two have many common topics. After being together for half a year, they registered their marriage in a low-key manner. There was no grand wedding, and few people in the industry knew about it. In 2014, 50-year-old Zhang Zequn gave birth to a child. He had been looking forward to having a child for most of his life. He was full of joy and cherished this hard-won happiness. He took the initiative to turn down many overseas location jobs and stayed at home with his wife and children as much as possible. He thought that he finally had a stable and happy family.
No one thought that this short-lived happiness would soon be broken. When her son was more than one year old, Hu Jiana proposed taking her child to the United States. The reason was that overseas educational resources were better and suitable for her child’s growth. Out of trust, Zhang Zequn did not obstruct them too much, and personally helped with the exit procedures, packed their luggage, and sent the mother and son on the flight to Los Angeles. He originally planned to go to the United States to reunite with his family after finishing the work at hand, but this separation made it difficult to see each other smoothly. When mother and son arrived in the United States, they could occasionally communicate via video chat. Soon after, the phone calls could not be connected, WeChat was blocked, and contact was completely cut off. Later, he gradually learned that Hu Jiana had obtained a U.S. green card long before she met him. The exit documents for taking the children were controversial, and the family savings were also transferred. This belated marriage left Zhang Zequn with only a long cross-border custody dispute.
In order to fight for his son’s visitation and custody rights, Zhang Zequn has been pursuing legal channels for many years, including domestic litigation and submitting materials to the United States with the help of the Hague Convention. The long legal battle lasted for nearly ten years. He once went to Los Angeles and briefly met his son. It was one of the few times in many years that he got together. As time goes by, the children slowly grow up in a foreign country. The language and living environment are completely different. There is a long ocean between father and son, making it extremely difficult to meet each other. At the same time as this tug-of-war, he experienced the shock of his parents passing away one after another, lost relatives one after another, and was far away from his son. Multiple changes weighed on him. The loneliness and suffering involved are difficult for outsiders to understand.
In April 2026, Zhang Zequn officially received his retirement certificate and posted the certificate on social platforms with the text “Spring is beautiful, there is a meeting in Taiwan, I am laid off with the certificate, long live my youth.” His tone seemed relaxed and free, but netizens noticed that he even held the commemorative book upside down. He laughed at himself because he was too excited. The host, who has experienced countless big live broadcasts on the stage and has always been calm and composed, could not hide his complicated emotions at this moment of bidding farewell to his career.
After retirement, Zhang Zequn lived alone in an old house in Dongcheng, Beijing, and lived mostly alone every day. In his spare time, he would go for a walk in the Summer Palace, take the bus around Beijing, read and write, and live a simple and quiet life. But he did not stop to enjoy his leisure. Just three days after his retirement, he went to the countryside of Zhaotong, Yunnan. He walked into a cherry orchard to help local fruit farmers carry goods, paid attention to left-behind children, and continued to devote himself to rural charity. He will also participate in cultural industry activities, support the new generation of hosts, and continue to shine with his many years of experience. He rarely appeals to the public about his misery on the Internet, and rarely takes the initiative to express his grievances about marriage and parent-child matters. Most of the time, he appears in front of the public in a decent and peaceful manner.
Now, the infant child has grown up, and there are still mountains and seas between father and son. He has never let go of his worries. The aura of the CCTV stage has faded, and there is no family to accompany him. When he returns home from charity work and activities, he is greeted by a deserted room. Many netizens couldn’t help but feel sad when they saw his current situation: he had witnessed countless reunion moments on stage, hosted countless lively and grand parties, and seen the lights of thousands of homes; but when it was his turn, his life went through ups and downs, and he lived alone in his later years.
Related Reading
- US accuses government contractor of leaking classified info to girlfriend’s Substack2026-10-25
- The delivery boy who married an American wife after five months of a flash marriage is planning to divorce, saying the reason is cultural differences and there is no fake marriage.2026-10-24
- The latest situation of 55-year-old CCTV host Dong Qian is exposed! Married to Wang Shilin and gave birth to a son. Now the marriage is very happy.2026-10-09
- The truth about Liu Huan’s settlement in Shanghai in his later years was revealed: It was not a move, but a way to recuperate! Beijing is his root2026-10-08
- Wu Qilong raised the national flag in Tiananmen Square and the event was canceled by Taiwan. My response: This is also the position of not making money.2026-10-07
