Born in China, Bo Yuan studied violin and cello before devoting himself to the double bass. He entered the Shenyang Conservatory in the class of Hoe Chung-Qing, then the Antwerp Conservatory in the class of Etienne Siebens and, the following year, the Juilliard School in New York. In 1992, he entered the Lyon Conservatory in the class of Marc Marder. In 1985, he was appointed principal double bass in the China Chamber Orchestra. Between 1992 and 1994, he plays at the Opéra national de Lyon (Kent Nagano) as an extra, as well as at the Orchestre national de Lyon (Emmanuel Krivine).

From 1994, he successively held the position of principal double bass with the Thuringia Philharmonic Orchestra, the Dijon Opera Orchestra and the Lyon National Opera Orchestra (Iván Fischer).

Bo Yuan joined the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande in 2004.