Ren Rong was born in Nanjing, China in 1960. In 1982, he studied in Nanjing Arts Institute where the painting practice of the Old Russian school was introduced. In 1989, he went to Germany and studied fine art at the Art Academy of Münster and the Art Academy of Düsseldorf. He entered the research programme in 1992, under the renowned German Art professor, Professor Fritz Schwegler. In 1993, Ren Rong received the Scholarship of the Ministry of Education and the Art of the Federal Land Schleswig-Hostein, and received the Weiburger Special Prize for Education in Germany in 1994. In 2000, he became the visiting professor of the Academy of Art, Hamburg.