In 1969 Qian joined the People's Liberation Army and was stationed in Shanghai, where he served as an officer and a reporter for the "PLA Daily". In 1976 Qian took part in the relief effort following the 1976 Tangshan earthquake, an event that deeply affected him and the subject of many of his later works. Since 1979 he has been a member of China Association of Journalists, including serving as its director. He was also involved in the founding of the periodicals "China Disaster Report" (中国减灾报), "Life Week" (三联生活周刊), and the CCTV program "News Probe" (新闻调查). In 1984 Gang enrolled in the People's Liberation Army College of Art in Beijing and upon graduation in 1986 he became a journalist at the "PLA Daily". From 1998 to 2001 he served as deputy editor of the Guangzhou-based newspaper "Southern Weekend".