Yearender: The year of Yao in Chinese basketball

Yao and the CBA are now promoting basketball to people of all walks of life, including children.

"Only by keeping our feet on the ground of history can we look up at the starlit sky," said Yao when he visited the first basketball stadium of China in Tianjin.

China's Basketball Hall of Fame will be built in 2019 as a testament to this sport's importance in China. Yao advised that the authorities of education and sports should join hands to build bridges for young players as this kind of cooperation will boost mass sports.

One example can be seen in Fuzhou of Fujian province, where 100 schools with basketball characteristics will be built as part of the program.

More than once, Yao has stressed the potential of 3 on 3 basketball as a way to develop this newest member of the Olympic family. He took part in a wheelchair shooting contest draw attention to basketball for people with disabilities. Meanwhile, a new plan of children's basketball designed for children under 12 was launched and the related league kicked off this December.

According to Yao, basketball is a way of life, a method to educate people and a way of strengthening society. It strengthens people in body and mind. By allowing more and more children to get involved in basketball, Yao is trying to lay a solid foundation for the sport's future in China.