Yuanyu got her master degree at the School of Art Institute of Chicago and bachelor degree at TsingHua University Academy of Fine art. At a very young age, she was trained in traditional landscape and still-life painting where art is created to be beautiful. While she is a surrealist artist, a combination of mimicking standard colors from Netherland paintings, Constructivism art and classical compositional elements, such as balance and proportions allow her work to be beautiful in a traditional sense. Meanwhile, the surrealism is evident in the detail of her work, whether is the piece in the form of an installation, a drawing, or even sculpture. To further emphasize the beauty of traditional art in her surrealist pieces, she does not use modern technology and create through handcraft practices. Even the materials she uses to tend to be traditional like clay, wood, paper and oil paint.