He rose to fame through this involvement in the performing arts troupe of the PLA's General Political Department.
Yan has four signature works: The Little Poplar Tree (小白杨), Mother (母亲), Words From My Heart (说句心里话), and The 1-2-3-4 Song (一二三四歌).
Yan has performed all four songs on the annual CCTV New Year's Gala, to critical acclaim.
At age 15, he joined the Chinese People's Liberation Army.
He studied music under Zhang Xiao, Wei Jinrong, Jin Tielin and Cheng Zhi.