Between 1946 and 1950, she often went to Hong Kong to make films such as "All-Consuming Love" (), "Hua wai liu ying" (), "Sorrows of the Forbidden City", and "Rainbow Song" (). After introducing "Shanghai Nights" () in 1949, Zhou returned to Shanghai. She spent the next few years in and out of a mental institutions owing to frequent breakdowns. Through the years, Zhou led a complicated and unhappy life marked by her failed marriages, illegitimate children, and suicide attempts. Zhou's first husband was the composer Yan Hua (, 1912–1992), who wrote and sometimes also performed songs with her.