Ningyi grew up in Shijiazhuang, a city an hour and a half from Beijing by high-speed train. Her journey has taken her across continents—from studying Portuguese in Brazil to working on political mediation in Singapore and later joining the UN peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic. It was in Bangui, the capital of CAR, that she shot her first film Eat Bitter.

In Eat Bitter, her debut feature documentary, she co-directed and co-produced a portrait of a Chinese construction manager and a Central African sand laborer—two men pursuing independence and happiness in a place shaped by civil conflict and colonial history. The film premiered at CPH:DOX in 2023 and went on to screen at over 50 international festivals. It was later acquired by the BBC and earned her the Emerging Documentary Director award at the 47th Asian American International Film Festival.

Ningyi is drawn to stories rooted in realism. She is currently developing her first narrative feature, A.M.P., inspired by true stories of Chinese sex workers in Flushing, Queens. She also makes short films—projects that are simple in scale but full of experimentation and craft. She enjoys the process of building them with the people around her, and is always looking to meet new creators and collaborators who are excited to make something meaningful with limited resources.