Born in Shanghai in 1953, Chen self-taught to paint in 1970 when he's in the village. In 1978, he enrolled to the Oil Painting department, Central Academy of Fine Arts for master degree, after he graduated he stayed for teaching. In 1982, he moved to New York as a free artist, after his return in 2000, he stayed in the art department, Tsing Hua University as a professor, and the advisor for doctors, in the same time he also established his own Chen Danqing Studio. He published Notes on New York in 2000, Chen Danqing's Music Notes in 2002, and Surplus Materials in 2003.