As a young student, he studied traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy before attending the Shanghai Art & Design Academy, where he specialized in decoration and design beginning in 1996. In 1999 he attended the China Academy of Art, Visual Communication Department, Shanghai branch. In 2005 he started his career as an artist with the stated goal of "creating new forms of contemporary art."[3]
2010 (2010): The Printed Image in China: from the 8th to the 21st Centuries, British Museum (London, UK)[15]
2010 (2010): 《Post-tradition: the Magnified Slice》—Post Tradition: Forth Shanghai Duolun Exhibition of Young Artists, Shanghai DuoLun Museum of Modern Art (Shanghai, China)[16]
2010 (2010): Heavenly City - Yang Yongliang Solo Exhibition, MC2 Gallery (Milan, Italy)[17]
2010 (2010): Seoul International Photography Festival, Seoul, South Korea
2010 (2010): Artificial Wonderland: Yang Yongliang Solo Show, 18 Gallery (Shanghai, China)
2010 (2010): Artistic Conception 'Landscape' – Yang Yongliang Solo Exhibition, My Humble House Art Gallery (Taipei, Taiwan)
2010 (2010): Will to Height - Contemporary Art Exhibition, Epsite (Shanghai, China)
2010 (2010): Heavenly City, Paris-Beijing Photo Gallery Solo Show, Paris-Beijing Photo Gallery (Paris, France)
2011 (2011): Shan Shui – Poetry without Sound? Landscape in Chinese Contemporary Art Works from the Sigg Collection, Kunstmuseum Luzern (Switzerland)[18]
2011 (2011): Metropolis - City Life in the Urban Age, Noorderlicht (Groningen, Netherlands)[19]
2011 (2011): The Eye is a Lonely Hunter: Images of Humankind (The 4th Edition of the Fotofestival), Wilhelm-Hack Museum (Ludwigshafen, Germany)[20]
2011 (2011): The Peach Colony - Yang Yongliang Solo Show, Paris-Beijing Photo Gallery (Beijing, China)
2011 (2011): The Peach Blossom Colony - Yang Yongliang Solo Show, 18 Gallery (Shanghai, China)
2011 (2011): Phantom Metropolis - Solo Exhibition by Yang Yongliang, Schoeni Art Gallery (Hong Kong)
2011 (2011): The End of the Brush and Ink Era: Chinese Landscape, True Color Museum (Suzhou, China)[21]
2013 (2013): DE LEUR TEMPS, Banana Hangar Nantes Art Centre (Nantes, France)[39]
2013 (2013): Seven Sunsets, Waiting Dawns, All in One. How to Kill a Wondrous Time... Not Waiting a Thousand Hours, Shanghai Gallery of Art (Shanghai, China)[40]