Shi was born to a Chinese family in Canada before moving back to China with her parents. Her mother was the cousin of famous
Chinese philosopher Ai Siqi, and her father's ancestor was a Qing Dynasty imperial doctor. When she was 9, Shi participated in an
NHK television documentary about the 100th anniversary of the China-Vietnam railway, which sparked a love of performing. At the age of 13, she left her parents to move to the UK, where she studied at the Sherborne College and Hurtwood House. Her love of opera and musicals began during a school trip to watch
Cats. After participating in several school musicals, Shi returned to Vancouver and graduated from
University of British Columbia, where she majored in Opera Performance and minored in Commerce. In her final year, the opera artist program Opera Nuova cast her in Queen of the Night. Shortly after graduating, she moved to Rome to study with
Rolando Nicolosi (
Luciano Pavarotti's pianist and coach). In 2010, Shi was invited to perform in Vienna's
Golden Hall, and later studied with language coach
Nico Castel at the
Juilliard School of Music, where James Lvyone offered her the main role in his newly composed Chinese opera. Shi realised the importance of mastering the language and started to notice more aesthetic differences between Chinese and Western music styles, which inspired her to complete her master's degree at the
Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. In 2015, Shi joined IEMR Resources Inc. (CVE:IRI) as one of main five Directors. ==Honors and awards==