Mengqi Ji was born on April 18, 1991, in Xi’an, China. Mengqi’s mother, Ke Ren, remembered it as the day she received all the joy and happiness in the world. Mengqi was a curious child with a myriad of hobbies from painting, to calligraphy, to photography. She loved to play the Erhu, a traditional Chinese instrument with two strings; Mengqi’s parents watched in awe as she struck the cords with precision, filling their home with beautiful melodies.