Born in a small town in China, Cao Yong started his training in painting when he was only 11 years old. Because his family background was considered politically questionable by the Chinese authorities, the young Cao Yong had to endure unimaginable hardships and humiliations in order to continue his training. Many years later, upon graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Henan University, he took a position as assistant professor of Art at the University of Tibet. During his seven years in Tibet, Cao Yong immersed himself in the spare beauty of the remote and isolated land, and embraced the distinctive Tibetan culture. In order to copy the remains of ancient Tibetan wall paintings, Cao Yong, accompanied only by a horse, a dog and a gun for hunting, lived alone in primitive mountain caves for nearly one full year. Cao Yong's legendary experience in Tibet enabled him to develop a deep understanding of the connection between the natural and the human, as well as between the secular and spiritual. It is this understanding that breathes life into his exquisite images, and makes his work both powerful and, in the most classical sense, romantic.

Cao Yong's experience in Tibet resulted in a remarkable series of paintings, entitled, "The Split Layer of Earth: Mount Kailas." In this series, the artist reveals the conflict between the physical and the spiritual realms, but also plunges into the deeper layer of social-political and religious struggles in Tibet. Exhibited at the Beijing Artist Gallery, these intensely emotional paintings earned Cao Yong the enthusiastic praise of the international press, as well as lecture engagements at the embassies of France, Spain, Mexico and Bolivia.

In 1989, Cao Yong took up residence in Japan. While he continued painting his Tibet series, h also accepted commissions for the painting of numerous city murals. The artist was extolled by the Japanese press as "a genius" upon his completion of several monumental murals of dragons, regarded as the largest single images of dragons in the world. During this period, Cao Yong's work was exhibited in the prominent Shibuya Gallery, Gallery Bamboo, and the O Art Museum in Tokyo as well as in the Yunghan Art Gallery in Taipei.

In 1994, Cao Yong came to the United States. Since then, his work has been displayed in such prominent galleries as Gallery Revel in New York City, and Gallery Rodeo, Richard Thomas Galleries, Lu Martin Gallery, and Charles Hecht Galleries in California. Cao Yong's original paintings are highly sought after, and of such exceptional quality that Christie's has sold them at auction.

Cao Yong's biography, Escape, which depicts his life in China, has been published internationally, in languages such as French, Japanese and Spanish; its English version scheduled for release in the year 2000.

Cao Yong is currently based in Los Angeles, and is now reaching his artistic maturity. Since 1999, his prolific company "Cao Yong Editions" has released different series on varied themes, each of which represents the artist's most recent work. From the dazzling California coastline to the peaceful canals of Venice, Cao Yong continues to capture the timeless romance and beauty that surround us - and which are, after all, our most precious human possessions.