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He was interviewed by staff from the NZ Government Ethnic Affairs Ministry resulting in an article on the Ministry websiteL ‘From Tradition to Heavy Metal’.

Yao has featured in the following Chinese media, which covered his musical career and experience and his work in promoting Chinese culture in New Zealand: TV: China Chongqing TV; CCTV 4 and newspapers: ‘China Daily’; ‘China Culture Daily’ and ‘Chongqing Daily’. Reporters filmed and interviewed Yao in both China and New Zealand.

Many concerts followed including Hamilton City Council's monthly concerts and the University of Waikato solo concert. In addition Yao ran workshops and master classes at University of Victoria, Wellington. He has co-operated with a number of High Schools [for example, ‘One Belt One Road Culture Blending Concert at Tauranga Boys College, as well as writing music for the new opera-version of ‘Bonefeeders’ (Auckland Art Festival) – blending Chinese and Maori music, as well as Western music.

He performed in front of two NZ Prime Ministers: Rt. Hon. John Key and Rt. Hon. Bill English. He also worked with well-known New Zealand composers Gareth Farr and Jack Body as well as Renee Liang, the poet [‘Bone Feeders’].

Possibly the highlight of Yao's career so far came in 2015 when he performed in front of NZ Prime Minister John Key and Chinese Ambassador Wang Lu Tong at a function in Parliament at Chinese New Year. Many other performances followed and Yao got the opportunity to introduce his music to the nation when he was interviewed by Radio NZ and by the Chinese Herald Newspaper in Auckland which gave his story on the front page.

Gradually his fame spread and in June 2015 the NZ TV 3 programme ‘Both Worlds’ covered his musical career in China and New Zealand.

In 2013, Yao performed a very successful concert with NZ Trio in Auckland receiving NZ Herald good reviews and in 2014 he was invited by the Confucius Institute to perform at the Chinese New Year function held by the Wellington City Council. Other successes include a pre-concert exhibition of Forbidden City of Chamber of Music from China at the Hamilton Gallagher Academy of Performing Arts and composition pieces in particular ‘The River’ performed with Hawke's Bay Youth Orchestra.

In 2011, he took part as a guzheng player accompanist in ‘The Bone Feeder', a play by Kiwi Chinese Renee Liang.

Yao arrived in New Zealand to study in 2002, living in Timaru and Christchurch in the first three years and moving to Hamilton in 2004. Following studying at school, university (gaining a degree in Business Administration) and then at Wintec, he teaches and performs on the guzheng for local communities and plays as a solo guzheng and piano performer in churches, retirement homes, schools, and in public at many social and community events. He finished his studies at Wintec in 2011, gaining Wintec's first ever Master of Arts (with Distinction) by an international student. His year-long masters study culminated in the recording of 11 traditional and contemporary guzheng music pieces.

He has taught students aged from 9 to 55 in New Zealand since 2002, most being migrants originally from Taiwan, China and Malaysia and Yao became the first Chinese artist to be presented with an award for ‘Outstanding Services to the Arts’ from Arts Waikato in the Waikato region, New Zealand.

Yao began learning Western classical music theory and piano when he was four years old, and the guzheng at eight, from his mother. He also played the guzheng as a solo artist or as part of a group at a very young age in frequent national and international concerts. He competed in a number of Chinese national and international guzheng competitions, winning several gold awards in 1996. In 1997, Yao played a guzheng solo in the 13th International Youth Arts Festival in Japan and won critical acclaim from international professionals. He has featured in TV programs and live shows on Beijing TV and China Central TV. In 2001, Yao won the Gold Medal in the Beijing Regional competition and the Silver medal in the National competition of the China National Fresh Young Artists Competition organised by the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Arts.