Nagqu Prefecture
Yang was born in Shanghai in 1953. In 1970, during the Cultural Revolution, he was sent-down youth performing manual labour in Taihe County, Anhui province. In September 1973, he began studying at the Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. He graduated in 1976 and then began working in Nagqu Prefecture, Tibet for a drug company. In 1984, he was named party secretary of Nagqu Hospital. In September 1986, Yang was named deputy commissioner (vice mayor equivalent) of Nagqu. In December 1992, he was named deputy party secretary of Chamdo Prefecture.