The opening ceremony of the National Academy of Art was held on March 26, 1928 in Luoyuan Garden, part of Gushan Mountain in Hangzhou. 

The first president of the academy was Lin Fengmian and its founder was Cai Yuanpei, a prominent Chinese educator and politician, and president of Peking University from 1916 to 1927.

[Photo from caa.edu.cn]

[Photo from news.gmw.cn]

[Photo from xinhuanet.com.cn]

The academy changed its name in June 1950 from Hangzhou National College of Art to Zhejiang Academy of Art. It then changed its name to China Academy of Art in November, 1993. Throughout the decades, many well-known artists and professors taught in the school, giving rise to a large number of famous artists in the country.