Liu Yuan started to study composition from Professor Guo Zurong in 1975. In 1986, he entered the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and studied composition under the guidance of Professor Yang Liqing, Zhao Xiaosheng and so on. After graduation, Liu Yuan became a composer at the Shanghai Dance Theatre. In 2000, he entered the Central Conservatory of Music (CCOM) where he studied with Professor Wu Zuqiang and got a doctoral degree. After graduation in 2003, he became a professor in the Composition Department of CCOM. His major works include the first symphony Symphonic Rhapsody Poem – the Memory in Awa Mountain, symphonic poem Recall of Hakka House, Recall of the River and Mountain, Legend of Shadi-er (for a grand folk orchestra), Guiyi, Zhongshan Cruiser in 1922, Nanci, Chamber Music, Song of Bamboo, Porcelain, Nirvana, Marco Polo and Princess Kököchin. He won multiple awards and his works have been performed and well received around the world.