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 Xizi Lake in Hangzhou and founded the first comprehensive national higher art college, the National Academy of Art, which opened a chapter in higher art education in China.

As the first national academy of fine arts with the most comprehensive disciplines and the largest scale in China, China Academy of Fine Arts has been relocated and renamed several times in the development history of more than 90 years, from National Academy of Fine Arts, National Hangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, National Academy of Fine Arts, East China Branch of Central Academy of Fine Arts, Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts to China Academy of Fine Arts today.

In this process, there are always two completely different academic contexts. One is the idea of "the integration of Chinese and Western culture" represented by the first headmaster, Lin Fengmian, and the other is the idea of "bringing forth the old and bringing forth the new" represented by Pan Tianshou. They regard learning as a public instrument, and the two complement each other and go hand in hand, creating a relaxed environment conducive to the healthy development of art and humanities, which has become the most important tradition and feature of this school.