In 1952 she became a photojournalist for "Xin Hua News Daily", a role she held for decades. In 1957 she joined the Chinese Photographer's Association and worked as council member. She retired in 1994.

“In the 1950s-60s, a (woman) photographer from Nanjing, Xiao Zhuang, now in her 80s. Her work reveals the eye of a remarkable woman. She’s probably the only women photographer except of Hou Bo – who was Mao’s personal photographer – that I know was as active as any male figure photographing the Cultural Revolution, China’s changes and political messages. In spite of her following what was the required ideology, her photographs are suffused with an innate empathy, an almost subtle sense of doubt, which I don’t see in many other works.” – Karen Smith, globally renowned curator.