Born in Hebei Province, China, Shi Hu's career exemplified the fusion between fine art and craft practices. He first studied at the Beijing School of Arts and Crafts, where he later taught, and then the Zhejiang Fine Arts Institute. Working with ivory as a carver as well as mastering lacquer techniques from the late 1960s, he applied his graphic design skills to his role as art director of the People’s Fine Arts Publishing House in Beijing. It was only after a tour of Africa in 1978, during which time he visited 13 different countries and subsequently published his sketches from the trip, that he took the leap to become a full-time professional artist.

From the mid-80s onwards he exhibited widely, with solo shows that included major showings at the National Art Museum of China, Beijing; the Shenzhen Art Museum; The Cultural Affairs Bureau in Macau; the National Museum of Indonesia, Jakarta; the Yangtze River Gallery, Toronto, Canada: and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Singapore. He also participated in group shows in the United States. Spending significant periods of time in Macau and Guangdong province, he was sponsored for a visit to Bali to paint in 2000.

The close interaction between literature and painting in Chinese traditional practice is evident in Shi Hu’s work as a writer and poet. He published a series of metaphysical essays in 1996 – the same year that he became the Chair of the Society of Chinese Artists Worldwide – and collections of his poems and paintings were published in the last two decades of his life.