Li Meilian majored in art history at the University of Hong Kong and received her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Philosophy. She then earned her Ph.D. degree in Art History and Theory from the University of Sydney, Australia. Li Meilian taught Western art history, contemporary China and Hong Kong art history at the Hong Kong Arts Centre, the Hong Kong Arts Institute, the Art Department of the University of Hong Kong, the Art Department of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and the Department of Visual Studies at Lingnan University. Her research focused on Chinese art in the 19th and 20th centuries and contemporary Hong Kong art.
The books she has written and edited books include “A Glimpse into Hong Kong Art 1949-1997” (2017), “Sauntering through my city : serial works by Tang Ying Chi” (2017), The Unrestrained ‧ Modern Chinese Ink Painting (2015), “Nina Pryde: A Journey, Wandering with Ink” (2014) and “Mapping Identities: The Art and Curating of Oscar Ho” (2004), etc.