Cai Zhisong graduated from the Sculpture Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1997 and taught there for ten years before resigning in 2008 to focus on his art creation. He was invited to the 54th Venice Biennale in 2011 and was named one of the "Top 100 Art Leaders in the World" by Art Actuel in 2012. In 2014, he received the Rockefeller Award for Outstanding Young Chinese Artist and the Annual Impact Special Artist Award.