In 1979, recommended by physicist Qian Linzhao, Zhongchao went to Cambridge University in the United Kingdom to study theoretical physics; then received a doctorate from Cambridge University in 1984.
In 1979, recommended by physicist Qian Linzhao, he went to Cambridge University in the United Kingdom to study theoretical physics with theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking. He received a doctorate from Cambridge University in 1984, and his doctoral thesis was titled "Cosmological models and the inflationary universe". 
