Zeng Yi was born in 1949 in Shandong, a coastal province in eastern China. He began his career in 1975 at the Exhibition Department of the Shandong Art Center, before moving to the Jinan Federation of Literary and Art Association and the Jinan Photographer's Association, an institution he led for many years until becoming its president.
During his career, he has curated exhibitions dedicated to important international photographers, including Yousuf Karsh, Josef Koudelka, James Nachtwey, Vivian Maier, Lang Jingshan, Lv Houmin, and Zhang Zhaotang. He has also been involved in promoting photographic culture by promoting awards and festivals aimed at young people. As Chief Curator of Shandong University of Art and Design—where he is also a Senior Professor and academic supervisor—he has supported art in many forms, organizing exhibitions of engravings and paintings dedicated to great European and American masters, from Leonardo da Vinci to Cubism, and publishing numerous essays and catalogs.
He holds important positions in various institutions: he is president of the Mo-tzu International Imaging Research Institute, vice president of the Shandong Photographers Association, president of the Eastern International Photography Art Association, member of the curatorial committee of the China Photographers Association, consultant to the Overseas Chinese Photography Society, and executive chairman of the Silk Road Photographic Organization International Alliance (SRPOIA), which brings together 39 countries. He has also been Chief Planning Director of the Beijing International Photography Week, Chief Curator and Art Director of the Ji'nan International Photography Biennial, and General Director of the fifth edition of the FIAP Photo Meeting.
He has received numerous awards and honors throughout his career, including the UNESCO Cultural Center of Asia Award, the China Photography Golden Statue Award, the PPA's Ross Sanddal International Photography Award for Outstanding Contribution, and the Sungkyunkwan Art Award in South Korea.
His works are part of the collections of museums and cultural institutions in Europe and the United States.