Chen Zuohuang was born in 1947 in Shanghai. His family later moved to Gulangyu, an island in southeast China's Fujian Province. This place is known throughout the country as the Island of Pianos.

"I began to get in touch with music soon after the founding of new China. I was not born into a musician's family, but Gulongyu Island, where I lived in my childhood, had a strong musical atmosphere. Most people there can play the piano. When I was very young, I often listened to others playing and thus developed a keen love for music. I began to study the piano myself."

A few years later, Chen Zuohuang was enrolled in the secondary school affiliated with the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. While studying piano, he became fascinated with conducting music. During the Cultural Revolution, however, he had to give up his music studies when he went to work in the countryside.

After the end of the Cultural Revolution, Chen entered the conducting department of the Central Conservatory of Music. Upon graduation in 1981, Chen went to the United States to pursue advanced studies. He received his master's degree at the Tanglewood Music Center and then a doctorate in music at the University of Michigan. Chen Zuohang was China's first doctor of musical arts.

In the following years, Chen served as artistic director and conductor of over 30 symphony orchestras throughout the world. Music critics for its intense artistic charm acclaim his work, and he has been recognized as one of Asia's most important conductors.

In 1996, Chen Zuohuang became the first artistic director and principal conductor of the China National Symphony Orchestra, which was created from the former Central Philharmonic Orchestra. The formation of the orchestra marked a significant step for the Ministry of Culture in reforming and restructuring the state-level performing arts troupes. It was the first professional orchestra in China to adopt a contract system and a system of responsibility under the leadership of the artistic director to enhance the group's performance and management.