Mingmei Yip began writing and painting during her childhood in Hong Kong. Her first newspaper article was published when she was fourteen; the next year she was admitted to the prestigious Hong Kong Chinese Contemporary Artists' Guild, becoming its youngest member. For many years her paintings appeared regularly in Hong Kong exhibitions. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Paris (Sorbonne) and has studied the traditional Chinese arts of Tai Chi, Qin music, Buddhist sacred chant and calligraphy. Mingmei has collaborated with Carnegie Hall and the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. She is the author of the popular Chinese Children's Favorite Stories and four novels: Skeleton Women, Peach Blossom Pavilion, Petals from the Sky and Song of the Silk Road. She lives in New York City.