1930年出生于今内蒙古自治区的八里罕。1946年至1948年在北京育英中学读高中，期间拜故宫篆刻名家金禹民先生为师，学习篆刻及印钮雕刻艺术，接触传统雕塑造型法的训练。1951年考入中央美术学院学习雕塑，成为了新中国培养的第一代雕塑家。入学后，刘焕章一方面学习当时的文艺理论，配合政治运动完成创作任务，参与表现工农兵和重大题材的创作；一方面利用闲暇时间私下进行雕塑创作上的艺术探索，他认为雕塑应该以造型表现思想感情、传达意图，这使他与当时功能化、概念化的雕塑造型方法格格不入。1956年，刘焕章毕业于中央美术学院雕塑研究班，毕业后留在本院雕塑创作室从事专业创作，曾先后参加北京展览馆、中国历史博物馆、中国军事博物馆、工人体育场及毛主席纪念堂等建筑的大型雕塑创作。
Born in Balihan, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in 1930. From 1946 to 1948, he studied in Beijing Yuying Middle School. During this period, he studied seal carving and seal button carving art under the tutelage of Mr. Jin Yumin, a famous seal engraver from the Forbidden City, and was exposed to the training of traditional sculpture modeling methods. In 1951, he was admitted to the Central Academy of Fine Arts to study sculpture and became the first generation of sculptors trained in New China. After admission, Liu Huanzhang studied the literary and artistic theories of the time, completed creative tasks in conjunction with political movements, and participated in the creation of works that portrayed workers, peasants, and soldiers and major themes; on the other hand, he used his spare time to privately explore the art of sculpture creation. He believed that sculpture should express thoughts and feelings and convey intentions through modeling, which made him incompatible with the functional and conceptual sculpture modeling methods of the time. In 1956, Liu Huanzhang graduated from the sculpture research class of the Central Academy of Fine Arts. After graduation, he stayed in the sculpture studio of the academy to engage in professional creation. He has participated in the creation of large-scale sculptures for buildings such as the Beijing Exhibition Hall, the China History Museum, the China Military Museum, the Workers' Stadium, and the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall.
