Drama educator Professor Hao Rong is a man of multiple hats. He is President of the Central Academy of Drama (CAD), Deputy Secretary of the party committee of the CAD, and a member of the 14^th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

Professor Hao graduated from the Department of Acting at the CAD in 1995. In the same year, he became a teacher at his alma mater. In 2003, he obtained a master’s degree in Theatre and Traditional Chinese Theatre.

Professor Hao served the CAD in various capacities, from section chief of the Teaching and Research Centre for Speech at the Department of Acting, Vice Dean of the department, then secretary of the party branch of the department, and subsequently dean of the department, before going on to become assistant to the President of the CAD, then Vice President of the CAD. In 2018, Professor Hao was appointed President of the CAD. Besides teaching, he is convenor of drama and film studies for the academic-degrees committee of the State Council of China, and Vice Chair of the Drama and Film-Studies Teaching Steering Committee For Higher-Education Institutions under the Ministry of Education. He is also Vice Chair of both the Beijing Film Association and the China Musical Association; a contract researcher at the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles; secretary general of the World Theatre Education Alliance; and director general of the Asia Theatre Education Centre.

Professor Hao is also a productive artist. He has directed drama productions including The Butcher, Miss Julie, Come to A Bad End, Weddings and Funerals, Vienna Coffee in the Cup, Marriage, Hamlet, The Orphan of Zhao, and Xiaojing Hutong. He has acted in plays such as Couples in Relationship Crisis, The Eldest Son, and The Cherry Orchard. His accolades include the Golden Lion Director Award of Chinese Theatre; second prize (national) from the Fok Ying Tung Education Foundation; first prize in Teaching Achievements of Higher Education in Beijing; and the Prominent Teacher Award of Beijing Universities. Professor Hao has also been named a talent for the “Four Key Projects” scheme at the Beijing Municipal Department of Publicity. The course he taught won the excellent-course prize at the CAD.

Professor Hao and the Academy go back a long way. He has taught at the School of Drama, and spoken at the Cross-Strait and Hong Kong and Macau Art Forum hosted by the Academy. As President of the Asia Theatre Education Centre, he appointed faculty from the Academy as the centre’s director and members. He also invited students and teachers of the Academy to take part in the Asian Theatre Schools Festival, where they performed, hosted workshops, and adjudicated contests.