He enrolled in Xie Jin Film & Television Art College of Shanghai Normal University in 2012, and graduated in 2016.
After graduating from university in 2016, he signed with Century Agency, a brokerage company and officially entered the entertainment industry.
[9][10] He then starred as the male lead in historical drama Butterfly Lovers, and received positive reviews for his portrayal of Liang Shanbo.
[11] On February 24, 2018, Yan himself issued a statement via Sina Weibo saying that he had cancelled the contract with the original brokerage company Century Agency.
[19] Yan also played the role of a sharp-tongued scholar Xu Xinnian in the 2024 period fantasy drama Guardians of the Dafeng.