The predecessor of China Academy of Fine Arts is the National Academy of Fine Arts. 1928, Mr. Cai Yuanpei, then president of the university, chose the site of Xizi Lake in Hangzhou, and founded the first comprehensive national art college in China-National Art Research Institute, which consisted of four departments of Chinese painting, western painting, sculpture and design, and the preparation and research department, and started the practice of "replacing religion with aesthetic education", which opened a chapter in higher art education in China.

In the 90-year development history of China Academy of Fine Arts, it has moved several times and changed its name several times. From National Art College, National Hangzhou Art College, National Art College, East China Branch of Central Academy of Fine Arts, Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts to today's China Academy of Fine Arts, from Hangzhou to Jiangxi, Hunan, Yunnan and Chongqing, from the distant bell of isolated mountain, the length of Nanshan Lake to the vastness at the foot of Xiangshan Mountain, during which time, years passed and personnel changed, but the spirit never died and passed on from generation to generation.