Yan Chenxi was born in September 1965 in Qixian County, Shanxi, China. He is of Han ethnicity. He graduated from the Beijing Institute of Civil Engineering and Architecture with a major in gas engineering and later obtained a Master of Public Administration degree. Yan began his career in July 1987 and joined the Chinese Communist Party in November 1994. Yan started his professional career at the Shanxi Provincial Urban and Rural Planning and Design Institute. In January 1988, he joined the Urban Construction Division of the Shanxi Provincial Department of Construction, where he served successively as staff member, deputy section chief, section chief, and later deputy director and researcher-level official.[2][3]
In June 2005, Yan was appointed director of the Urban Construction Division of the Shanxi Provincial Department of Construction, concurrently serving as director of the Provincial Scenic Areas Supervision Center. In July 2008, he was promoted to Vice Director and member of the Party Group of the Shanxi Provincial Department of Construction.[4]
In January 2014, Yan was appointed Deputy Secretary-General of the Shanxi Provincial People's Government and member of the Party Group of the General Office.[5] In December 2017, he became Party Secretary of the Shanxi Provincial Department of Transportation, and in February 2018 he was appointed Director of the department.[6]
In March 2021, Yan was appointed Secretary of the CPC Linfen Municipal Committee. In May 2021, he concurrently served as First Secretary of the Party Committee of the Linfen Military Subdistrict.[3] In January 2023, he was elected Vice Chairman of the Shanxi Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, while briefly continuing as Linfen Party Secretary until March 2023.[7]