Yangyang was born in China and grew up in the Netherlands. She studied psychology and law during undergraduate but went on to earn a degree in Fine Arts from the Utrecht Academy of Arts and a Masters in Social and Cultural Psychology from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Combining her passion for art, psychology, and wellbeing, she then pursued a Masters in Art Therapy from New York University, where she graduated in May 2013. There she worked extensively with children and families with special needs both in Manhattan as well as abroad in Bolivia and Italy.