Chen Jiwu was born in Fuzhou, Fujian Province, in 1942. He graduated from the Oil Painting Department of the Zhejiang Art Academy in 1967. After having designed stage backdrops for a dance company in Xiangshan district, Zhejiang Province, he became involved in mass art activities in the cultural centre in the same district from 1982 onward.

Despite his initial training in oil painting, Chen's forte lies in the designing of New Year pictures.