Wang Xudong was born in 1967 in Shandan county, Gansu province. He joined Dunhuang Academy in June 1991 and served as the former secretary of the Party committee and director of Dunhuang Academy. Wang has been a member of the Party group of the Culture and Tourism Division of the academy and the chief curator of the Palace Museum (vice-minister level) since April 2019.

Wang engaged in research on grottoes, ancient murals and earthen ruins protection, cultural relics monitoring and warning and preventive protection. Since he started cultural relics protection work in 1991, Wang has headed or completed more than 60 protection and repair projects for key cultural relics units under state protection and undertaken nearly 20 programs at national, provincial or ministerial levels.

He headed or participated as a key member in more than 10 international cooperation programs sponsored by cultural heritage protection and management organizations in the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, Australia and other countries, and published more than 170 academic papers.