Born in Hangzou, China, Cong Yuan received formal artistic training at the Central Institute of Art and Crafts, a school founded by his father, the distinguished Professor Mai Yuan. One of the landscapes paintings he produced during this time won national honors and now hangs in the permanent collection of the National Art Museum in Beijing. 

Despite his early artistic success, Cong pursued a degree in accounting from the Central Institute of Finance and Banking in Beijing, eventually becoming Director of the Center for Business Education at the Central TV and Broadcasting University of China. 

His career, however, could not replace his artistic ambition, and in 1986 he immigrated to the United States to attend the University of Georgia and get his M.F.A. in Drawing and Painting. 

As an art professor and professional artist, Cong Yuan has taught, lectured, and exhibited his works at the University of Georgia, the State University of New York, Connell University, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Duke University. His work is on permanent display in several museums around the country, including the Georgia State Museum. 

After a brief stint living in New York state, he now calls Carolina home.