Born and raised in China, he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts (painting and drawing) from China National Academy of Fine Arts in 1992 and a Master of Fine Arts (digital media) from Southern Illinois University in 2007. In the past 20 years he has worked as a video production artist, newspaper art editor and press photographer, a freelance illustrator, a graphic designer, and an art educator. He taught in the Fine Arts Department at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania.