Professor Liang was the son of Liang Sichen, a highly respected scholar and architect and grandson of Liang Qichao, a Chinese reformist in the Qing Dynasty. He was a founding member of Friends of Nature, one of the first environmental NGOs officially registered in China. He is regarded as a pioneer of civil environmental movement in China.

Here is a tribute to Professor Liang by Christina Larson from the New America Foundation Liang Congjie: The Godfather of China's Green Movement