Cai Lei born in 1981 in Harbin, started to learn the violin at the age of 5 and the viola at the age of 14. Admitted to the Central Conservatory of Music High School in 1997 with the first prize and then to the Central Conservatory of Music in 2000 with the first prize and a professional scholarship. Studied with renowned viola educators Prof. Sui Ke Qiang and Prof. Wang Chang Hai. During the university, in addition to majoring in viola, mainly focused on chamber music, graduating with the highest score of 95, and studied with Mr. Chen Liangsheng, Prof. Yu Mingqing, Prof. Gong Hanxiang, the Tokyo String Quartet, Jörg Wolfgang Jahn, the Australian String Quartet, Joseph Silverstein, Beaux Arts Trio, SEIJI OZAWA etc. In 2002, won the second prize in the first string quartet competition at the Central Conservatory of Music. Represented the Central Conservatory of Music visited to Hong Kong, Europe and Japan. In the same year, he gave a special concert for string quartet at the Central Conservatory of Music an d the premiere of the Karl Orff String Quartet at the Harbin Concert Hall, which was a great success.

After graduating from the Central Conservatory of Music, he was recruited to work with the China Philharmonic Orchestra and the Macao Orchestra. In 2007 he was invited to record and publish a CD of the Weber and Mozart Clarinet Quintets.

During his work in the Macao Orchestra, he was employed as a part-time viola teacher at the Macao Academy for Performing Arts, and accumulated a lot of teaching experience. His students won the second and third prizes in the IYMMC Vienna International Young Musicians Music Competition for viola and won the Outstanding Teacher Award. In recent years, he has established the Macao String Trio, and established the Macao Chamber Music Exchange and Development Association, and serves as its chairman.