ZHAO Zhicong is Associate Department Head of the Department of Landscape Architecture, School of Architecture, Tsinghua University, and Deputy Director of the Institute for National Parks, Tsinghua University. She also serves as a member of the Theory and History Committee of the Chinese Society of Landscape Architecture and Co-Chair of the Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas.

ZHAO Zhicong’s research focuses on national parks and protected areas, ecological spatial governance, large-scale landscape conservation and governance, landscape heritage conservation, and biodiversity conservation. She has served as principal investigator for National Natural Science Foundation of China projects and multiple provincial- or ministerial-level grants, and has led or participated in commissioned projects for national agencies including the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Natural Resources, and the National Forestry and Grassland Administration. She has been engaged in long-term research, planning, and conservation practice in Sanjiangyuan National Park, Giant Panda National Park, and other protected areas in China.

ZHAO Zhicong has contributed to major books including the Research Series on National Parks and Protected Areas and National Park Planning, published under China's Thirteenth Five-Year Plan. She has published more than 50 academic papers and received multiple honors, including awards from the International Federation of Landscape Architects and the First Prize of the Science and Technology Progress Award from the Chinese Society of Landscape Architecture.