Beyond Sports

FAREWELL: Yao Ming, Houston Rockets All-Star player, announces his retirement at a press conference in Shanghai on July 20, 2011 (XINHUA)
SHANGHAI BOY: In his teens, Yao Ming played for Shanghai Men's Basketball Team, the former Shanghai Sharks (XINHUA)
RECORD OF TALENT: Yao Ming and his mother Fang Fengdi look at a collection of trading cards of star players of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), including himself, at the release ceremony on November 20, 1999 (XINHUA)
FIRST OLYMPICS: Yao Ming (left) is on his way to the Sydney Olympic Village on September 12, 2000, his first time to participate in the Olympic Games (XINHUA)
BIG MOMENT: Yao Ming shares his feelings with journalists in Beijing upon hearing the news that he had been selected by the Houston Rockets as the first pick in the U.S. National Basketball Association (NBA) draft on June 27, 2002 (Beijing time). Yao is the first international player to be an NBA number one draft pick without prior U.S. competetive experience (XINHUA)
FINAL FIGHT: Yao Ming shouts during the men's basketball finals of the 2002 Busan Asian Games, with China's men's basketball team on October 14. South Korea won 102-100 (XINHUA)
ROOKIE MEETS VETERAN: Rockets' Yao Ming (left) shakes hands with Michael Jordan of the Washington Wizards in 2002-2003 NBA All-Star Game, representing the Western and Eastern Conference All-Stars, respectively on February 9 (XINHUA/REUTERS)
THE YEAR OF YAO: Yao Ming graces the cover of Sports Illustrated, a famous sport magazine in the United States, published on February 10, 2003 (XINHUA)
ASIA CHAMPION: Yao Ming delivers a slam dunk in the final game between China and South Korea during the 2003 FIBA Asia Men Basketball Championship in Harbin, capital city of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province on October 1. The tournament ended with a Chinese victory over South Korea, 106-96 (XINHUA)
RIVALS AND FRIENDS: Yao Ming competes against Shaquille O'Neal of the Los Angeles Lakers during game two of the first round of the 2003-04 NBA playoffs on April 19, 2004. After Yao announced his retirement, O'Neal said Yao "was very agile. He could play inside, he could play outside, and if he didn't have those injuries he could've been up there in the top five centers to ever play the game" (XINHUA/REUTERS)
PARTNERSTHIP: Yao Ming (right) and Tracy McGrady whisper tactics to use against the Memphis Grizzlies on November 9, 2004 (XINHUA)
LOVE PASSING ON: Yao Ming volunteers to donate blood stem cells on September 4, 2005, when the China Marrow Donor Program (CMDP) started a campus tour at Bejing-based Renmin University. Yao also does some promotional work with his Chinese teammates for CMDP (XINHUA)
SHINING STAR: Yao Ming (left) signs autographs for his fans before the 2006 NBA All-Star Game on February 18 (XINHUA)
BEFORE THE GAME: Houston Rockets All-Star Yao Ming gestures in front of other teammates of the West Conference, warming up for the All-Star Game on February 18, 2007. A foot injury prevented Yao from participating in what would have been his fifth All-Star appearance (XINHUA/REUTERS)
PERFECT MATCH: Yao Ming and his wife, Ye Li, also a Chinese basketball player, married in Shanghai on August 6, 2007, having been in love for years. Ye Li played for China's women's basketball team at the 2004 Athens Olympics (XINHUA)
IN RECOVERY: Yao Ming is exercising his injured foot in the Houston Toyota Center on March 31, 2008. A series of foot and leg injuries hindered Yao during the last few years of his NBA career. After playing 244 games during his first three seasons, he played only 242 over the next five (XINHUA)
CHEERS: Yao Ming (third from left), celebrates with his teammates of China's men's basketball team after defeating Germany 59-55 to enter the top eight at the Beijing Olympics on August 16, 2008 (XINHUA)
SHORT REST: Yao Ming, puffing and panting, plays in the 2009 NBA All-Star Game on February 15 (XINHUA)
'GREAT WALL' SHOOTING: Yao Ming (center) shoots over Dirk Nowitzki (left) of the Dallas Mavericks, the home team, during the NBA regular season on April 15, 2009 (XINHUA/REUTERS)
CELEBRATION: Yao Ming (center) celebrates victory with Luis Scola (left) and Brian Cook (right) after beating the Portland Trail Blazers 92-76 to pass to the West Conference semifinals in the 2008-2009 NBA playoffs on April 30, 2009. This was the first time the Rockets reached the second round of the playoffs since 1997 (XINHUA)
JAMMING: Yao Ming rises up and throws down a one-handed slam dunk in the opening round of the West Conference semifinals in the 2008-2009 NBA playoffs on May 4, 2009 (XINHUA)
CHARITY AMBASSADOR: Yao Ming hugs a teenager in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on July 26, 2010. Yao visited Taiwan as representative of the Yao Foundation, providing care for students suffering from losses brought about by Typhoon Morakot, which struck Taiwan on August 8, 2009. He interacted with students by playing games and sharing his life experiences (XINHUA)
DONATE FOR THE FUTURE: Yao Ming comes to the opening ceremony of a school rebuilt by the Yao Foundation on July 30, 2010. The school is located in the region devastated by the 8.0-magnitude earthquake in southwest China's Sichuan Province on May 12, 2008 (XINHUA)
GIANT RETURNS: Having recovered from his last injury, Yao Ming (left) defends against Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic in the first match of the NBA preseason in Macallan, Texas, on October 5, 2010 (XINHUA)
ENJOYING THE GAME: Yao Ming, also a Special Olympics Global Ambassador since 2004, teaches a developmentally challenged boy during a training session in the city of Jiuquan in northwest China's Gansu Province on June 9, 2011 (XINHUA)
MEMORIZING: Yao Ming's fans are taking pictures with his wax figure in Madame Tussauds New York, a wax museum in New York City, on July 20, 2011. Yao announced his retirement on that day in Shanghai (XINHUA)