Cai Shangjun graduated from China Central Academy of Drama in 1992. In 1998, he directed Pavel Korchagin, which brought him a great success. In the late 1990’s, he worked as a scriptwriter for the films Spicy Love Soup (1997) and Shower (1999). In the following years he wrote and directed his own films The Red Awn (2007) and People Mountain People Sea (2011).