Raymond has been keeping track of Yao’s activities the past week in China for the New Year.

On Wednesday the 17th, Yao hosted a Chinese New Year party for the Shanghai MAXXIS Sharks. Here’s a video taken at the event. You might notice former Houston Rocket John Lucas III, one of the Sharks’ leading scorers, in the video.

On Friday, Yao visited with his his long-time mentor Li Qiuping, the head coach who had nurtured him ever since he was a kid. It was the first time he had seen Li Quiping since replacing him as head coach of the Shanghai MAXXIS Sharks with Bob Donewald Jr. after buying the team.

Later Yao went to Pudong Shenyuan Stadium to watch his team play against the Liaoning Panpan Hunters. The Sharks won 83-76 (click here for more photos).

The next night, the Sharks beat the Jilin Longrun Tea Northeast Tigers 134-111 to push their record to 18-6 and remain in 5th place in the CBA standings.

Finally, the Sharks organized a week-long training camp from Feburary 20-26 for kids born after 1995 from all across the country (the Sharks took care of their meals and lodging). Yao showed up at the opening of the camp held at the Shanghai Municipal Sports Bureau, and spoke a few words of encouragement to the kids.

Click here for more photos of Yao at the camp.

This past Wednesday, Yao pre-recorded a Shanghai television special for a Chinese New Year program with Bo Wanqing, a Shanghai congresswoman and one of the leaders of the Shanghai 2010 Expo. They talked about all the things that people love about Shanghai. Near the end of the taping, “Auntie Bo” presented a gift to Yao for his newborn baby. It’s obvious through this photo what the gender of the baby will be.

Click here for more photos from the taping.

Later that evening, Yao attended a charity gala to promote a green and low-carbon lifestyle, and to raise funds through auctions and donations for taking poor children from backward provinces and cities to tour the Shanghai 2010 EXPO.

Click here for more photos from the charity gala, including pics of Liu Xiang, Jin Jing, Shanghai Sharks members, and Yang Mi.

Saturday night Yao attended the Rockets-76ers game. Unfortunately the Rockets went cold in the second half and lost.

Click here for more photos from the game.

On Monday morning, Yao will be flying back to China, in part for Chinese New Year, which is next Sunday, February 14th.

Yao gave an exclusive interview to Fox 26 Houston where he talks about becoming a father for the first time. It aired Friday night (ignore the cheesy bail bondsman ad that plays the first few seconds). This interview about his baby is more in-depth than what we have seen in the Chinese media.

Here’s a full recap of the interview on the Fox26 Web site. Below is the part of the article that isn’t in the video interview:

Yao is always sensitive to Chinese tradition, but keeping this news under wraps wasn’t easy.

“It’s very hard,” Yao said. “It’s been very, very hard. You kind of feel that it is the best thing you ever get in your life.

“That’s something that inspires you.”

Once the news was out that Yao will become a father soon, he began getting advice from everywhere, especially from within the Rockets team.

“It’s easy to say right now I am going to take more responsibility and I have to take care of my family,” Yao said. “It’s easy to say, but harder is how to do it.

“I have to say I have no experience now and I’ve been told by some of my teammates, (guard) Aaron Brooks, you know he’s younger than me. He tells me his experience of how to be a father. That’s very strange.”

It will be real strange if the 7’6 Yao Ming hits the floor when his child his born like he jokingly fears.

“Hope I’m not passed out,” Yao said. “I will put my baby on the bed before I pass out.”

He is also keenly aware that dad has to take care of the baby when mother is not available and that can mean some long nights for a professional athlete who needs his sleep.

“I think next season I come back to play with some sleepy eyes, people don’t be surprised,” Yao said.

Yao said he and his wife have already come to grips with the fact the birth of their first child is world-wide news

“I have to deal with that,” Yao said. “I really appreciate a lot of guys pray for my baby.

“I got a lot of e-mails and messages so happy about (me) having a baby. It’s all good things. I appreciate those people who really care.”

After Yao and his wife have their first child, they will look forward to having another.

“I plan to have more than one kid because you know the law we have in China, one child for each family,” Yao said. “I feel a little bit lonely when growing up.

“I still had a lot of neighborhood kids, played together. I would liked to have had either a big brother or sister to protect me or a younger brother or sister I can command.

“In our situation we are allowed. Me and my wife are both only child from our families. Follow law we can have two.”

In a few months Yao, his wife and all of their relatives will celebrate a new addition to their family.

At some point after the baby is born Yao will share his joy with the world, but not right away.

“I try to enjoy (my) privacy,” Yao said. “That’s a big time for our family.

“The next generation come out. While it’s not the first kid in our family, a big family, but still big for me. I have no words now. I have no words.”

On a completely different note, on Wednesday Yao attended the opening of a new restaurant that bears his name. It’s the second “Yao Restaurant & Bar” in Houston, this one being downtown very close to Toyota Center. Interestingly, it’s a Japanese sushi bar. It’s funded and run by friends of the family, not by Yao or his parents.

Click here for photos from the opening, as well as an article about the restaurant.

A few days ago in China the second part of the Yang Lan interview aired (part 1 is at the bottom of this post).

Here’s the video to part 2, and here’s Raymond’s translation of Yang Lan’s blog post about the interview, which is good stuff.

YaoMania spoke to Yao several hours before Sunday’s Phoenix-Houston game at Toyota Center before Yao started his workout. Yao told us that the doctors would be checking out his foot, and based on their determination, decide if he could shoot baskets Sunday without his protective boot on, something he hasn’t done since the surgery. It turns out they must have cleared him to shoot free throws, just like we thought they might, since free throws don’t put any pressure on his feet in comparison to jump shots.

You may remember how we shot video of Yao in the fall shooting baskets from a chair to keep weight off his foot. Yao told us on Sunday afternoon he really hadn’t been shooting any baskets at all the past several weeks and months – especially since he had been in China the past few weeks — and also because he had plenty of time to regain his shooting touch before next season. That’s why we find it amazing that Yao reportedly hit 92 of 100 free throws Sunday without really having any practice lately!

Here are more photos of Yao shooting the free throws, and here’s some video.

In the video you’ll hear Rockets’ broadcaster Bill Worrell saying that the TV crew spoke to Rockets management that Yao was videotaped shooting free throws without his protective boot on, and that Rockets’ management was surprised by that news. But it’s obviously a mis-communication since Yao told us as he was headed to Toyota Center, that there was no way he was going to shoot baskets unless he was cleared by the doctors after they examined his foot.