Xu Yong (born in Shanghai in 1954) is a self-taught artist: first trained in polytechnics in Luoyang, he then worked in an advertisement agency, and finally embarked on a new photography career. Xu has been playing a key role in the contemporary art scene from the last twenty years: he is for instance one of the instigator of the creation of 798 Art Zone in northeast Beijing, which is now one of the largest art zone in the capital.