XI Xi Yang - Early Life

Early Life

Born in China, Yang is fluent in Mandarin and Japanese. She grew up in China, Japan, and America. She attributes her out-going personality to her childhood.

In 2005, fascinated by the cultural differences between American and Chinese high-school teenagers, Yang published an article in China's Yangzi Newspaper, entitled "Comparing Cultural Differences: American and Chinese High School Students". The basis of her studies came from the nine-page questionnaires she passed to 275 high-school students in both countries. The article also documented Yang's childhood and the emotional struggles she went through growing up as an Asian-American. Yang's article caught the attention of CCTV, the most powerful television broadcaster in mainland China, for she was one of the first few high-school students to publish in Yangzi. Yang was interviewed by CCTV on February 6, 2004, and received an overwhelming number of letters in response.

In 2007, she graduated from North Allegheny Senior High School and entered New York University, studying mass media communications.