Yao Ming was born in Shanghai in 1980. At 229 centimeters, he was the third tallest player in NBA history. Yao made his first appearance in the NBA during the 2000 Sydney Olympics. He surprised many critics with his first games, and was fast becoming an international fan favorite, as he broke Michael Jordan's record for votes (投票) received. In July 2011 Yao announced his retirement from the NBA due to frequent problems in his left foot.
He continuously works to raise awareness of endangered species and even went as far as to stop using shark fin soup at his wedding in 2007. Yao has been saying no to shark fin soup since 2006 when he was appointed Goodwill Ambassador (亲善大使) for wildlife protection. "Sharks are friends of human beings. They are not our food." Since his retirement he has become a surprise international force in the field of wildlife protection, and he is using his fame to tell us the difficulties faced by sharks.
Most recently he went to Houston Zoo, as part of his continuing effort to educate young people about the importance of wildlife protection. He is part of a large campaign (运动) by the wildlife protection charity WildAid, and has traveled through Africa to see and document the difficulties facing elephants and rhinos in the wild. With elephant and rhinoceros poaching (偷猎) on the rise, Yao also said, "When the buying stops, the killing can too. Get rid of the demand for rhino horn and ivory right at the source. That's what I want to do."
Although Yao is not the first Chinese player in the NBA, it could be argued that he is the most important one, not just for his taking part in charity and wildlife protection work. He built a bridge between two completely different worlds and introduced millions to the Chinese way of life, and the American lifestyle separately.