In February 2007, Zhou was appointed governor of Hunan, after a five-month period that saw him made a standing committee member and vice secretary of the CPC Hunan committee (September 3), and then acting governor of Hunan (September 30), appointed by the standing committee of the 10th Hunan People's Congress; he resigned as first secretary of the central secretariat of the CYL in December. He was re-elected governor of Hunan on January 24, 2008.