Since promoting the Shanghai Expo in Los Angeles at the start of the New Year, Yao returned to China. Raymond reports that on Thursday, January 7th, Yao for the first time in months got rid of his crutches and appeared in the recording of a Phoenix TV talk show: “The Zhou Libo Show” ??·???, a talk show similar to some of the late night talk shows in the U.S. where the host Zhou Libo, a famous Shanghainese comedian that Yao Ming likes to watch, chats and crack jokes with his guests on news and happenings around the world and China.

Click here for more photos of Yao on the talk show.

Then on Saturday, January 9th, Yao shot a commercial and gave an interview (click here for the video, which is very slow to stream in the U.S.)

For the first time in public, Yao admitted there will be a new addition to his family. He thanked his fans for their support and good wishes, and asked that everyone give him and his wife some room while they rest and prepare for the arrival of their newborn child in a few months.

He also clarified the rumor that he can now walk normally without his crutches. He said he could now walk on his own for about 50 meters, but if it’s any longer than that, then his doctors advise that he still use the crutches.

Yao’s Shanghai Sharks got another victory Sunday night, this time beating the Tianjin Ronggang Golden Lions in overtime, 113-105.

Former Rocket John Lucas III hit a 3-pointer with 5 seconds remaining in regulation to force the game into OT where Shanghai won it. Lucas finished with 16 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists.

Click here for more photos of Yao at the game.

There are photos posted of Yao in the forum Christmas night cheering on his Shanghai MAXXIS Sharks to a victory over the Beijing Capital Steel Ducks, 132-89, their biggest margin of victory in their history.

Click here for more photos of Yao at the game.

It’s been a busy past few days for Yao ever since he arrived in Shanghai. Raymond has posted photos in the forum of Yao from his latest event. See the story below…

SHANGHAI, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) — China’s NBA star Yao Ming participated in the opening ceremony of a public welfare activity named of “celebrities show you around Shanghai Expo 2010” on Monday.

He called on more celebrities and people to join the public and promotional events of the Shanghai Expo.

Yao presented a proposal called “contribute to Green Expo, share a bright future” at the ceremony.

“I hope more people especially the teenagers will join us to popularize Shanghai Expo and disseminate its ideas of green, health and affection,” he said.

Apart from Yao, international movie star Jackie Chan and well-known pianist Lang Lang are also the ambassadors of Shanghai Expo who launched the event.

The public welfare activity, held by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, China Ministry of Culture and Coordination Bureau of Shanghai Expo Affairs, features various activities such as charitable parties and public speeches. Some children from the disaster and depressed areas will get sponsors’ financial aid to take part in the Shanghai Expo.

Shanghai Expo 2010 will start on May 1 and end on Oct 31. It is estimated that more than 70 million visitors will arrive in Shanghai.

On Saturday night in Shanghai, Yao got a hero’s welcome from the fans as he appeared as team owner for the Shanghai Sharks season opener.

Yao spoke to the crowd before the game pledging he would try his hardest to bring the team back to the top of Chinese basketball.

Click here for lots more photos of Yao and details of the game.

The Sharks almost won the game, led by former Houston Rocket John Lucas III in his first game with Shanghai. Lucas scored 30 points on 13-of-22 shooting, but wasn’t able to hit a shot at the end of overtime that could have won the game.

Although Lucas didn’t have that illustrious of an NBA career, he must be thrilled he is “the man” in Shanghai and will be treated like royalty there. And who knows, if he keeps this up, he could get another crack at the NBA. It also doesn’t hurt that Yao would probably put in a good word for him, even if it meant Shanghai may not be as good without him.

It was a busy day for Yao on Friday in Shanghai where he took part in two press conferences.

The first one was with the Shanghai Sharks — the team he owns — where they announced they have a new sponsor, the Cheng Shin-Toyo Tire & Rubber Company, which is the 11th largest tire manufacturer in the world and the top bicycle tire manufacturer. They have a brand of tires called MAXXIS, so the official name of the team will now be the Shanghai Oriental MAXXIS Sharks.

The company employs over 15,000 people and operates in nine countries: Canada, the People’s Republic of China, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, and the United States. They have even been a sponsor of the Houston Rockets.

For more photos from this press conference, click here.

Later, Yao took part in another press conference, this time for the International Wildlife Conservation Organization.

Yao has been the Global Image Spokesperson since 2006 for the Active Conservation Awareness Programme Wild (ACAP WildAid). At the press conference, a new public service announcement video featuring Yao was shown in both English and Mandarin.

Yao joked at the press conference that since he is the owner of the Shanghai Sharks, he obviously he cannot eat shark fin soup. But seriously, as the video demonstrates, he made the vow not to eat the soup and asked that everyone else refrain from doing the same. During the press conference, his players pledged not to eat it as well.

If you notice in the photo below, former Houston Rocket John Lucas III is now a member of the Sharks (4th from the left).

For close-up photos of Lucas, Yao, and the Shanghai Sharks team, click here.

Raymond reports that Yao and his wife Ye Li arrived in Shanghai on Thursday.

Click here for more photos in the forum of Yao’s arrival in Shanghai.

On Friday, Yao will be attending a press conference to introduce a major financial sponsor for the team he owns, the Shanghai Sharks. It’s rumored to be a major car tire company.

He will attend another press conference for the International Wildlife Conservation Organization. Yao Ming has been the Global Image Spokesperson of the Active Conservation Awareness Programme WildAid (ACAP WildAid) since 2006. ACAP WildAid has shot another new public service announcement featuring Yao, which will be released tomorrow.

Raymond reports that it was a busy Sunday for Yao. Giving up his own time to rest and relax with family during the Mid-Autumn Festival, he decided to spend it with those who suffered during the recent earthquakes.

Yao woke up at 5:00am, left Chengdu at 06:15 am for Guangyuan (300 kilometers away), taking him 4 hours to get there. (Click here to see photos of Yao leaving the hotel and on his way to Guangyuan).

Once he arrived, he participated in the foundation laying ceremony of a Hope Project primary school (Click here for more photos).

He then distributed gifts for the school children there, including books to practice Chinese caligraphy, Xinhua English/Chinese dictionaries, pencil cases, color crayons, jump rope, caps, writing pads, basketballs and moon cakes.

He also played with the school kids the game “the old eagle catches little chicken” ?????.

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Raymond came across some photos on a Chinese forum where a fan posted some photos of Yao Ming and his trainer Anthony Falsone running sprints in Shanghai’s Luwan Stadium last Saturday.

Click here for more photos that were taken during their training session.

Talk about a confluence of cultures.

On Monday in Nanjing, China before the FIBA Diamond Cup tournament starts on Tuesday, Yao met up with Argentina’s Luis Scola, a fellow Houston Rocket, in a German restaurant. And teams from the 4 other countries that will be playing in the tournament also attended the meal. Got all that?

Also at the restaurant was our flopper extraordinaire, Manu Ginobili, who was celebrating his 31st birthday.

Check out all the photos from the restaurant by clicking here.