Yao Ming was the Olympic flag bearer at the celebration in Tiananmen Square the other night, a festivity that started the countdown to the Olympics in Beijing beginning August 8th, 2008. No doubt, Yao will be one of the most visible faces of the Olympics next year.

Click here for more photos from the event.

Just one day after his wedding, Yao Ming along with Liu Xiang (the 110 meter world record holder) got together in Beijing at a Coca-Cola sponsored event to kickoff the one-year countdown leading up to the opening of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

On Tuesday night, Yao and his new bride Ye Li will appear at Tiananmen Square for a countdown celebration, and on Wednesday night they will host a dinner for their national team teammates.

Click here for more photos and articles from Tuesday’s events. Thanks to Raymond, as always, for the pics and articles.

Raymond, our correspondent in China, has been monitoring all the online Chinese newspapers today as Yao Ming and Ye Li got married.

You can check out all the wedding coverage here in the YaoMania! forum.

Here’s a report from the Xinhua news service.

NBA star center Yao Ming has got married to his long-term girlfriend Ye Li in their hometown Shanghai on Monday.

Yao will fly to Beijing Tuesday to attend celebrations for the one-year countdown to the 2008 Olympics on August 8, Zhang said.

It’s not Yao news, but several of his teammates got together in Houston on Saturday for Tracy McGrady‘s 4th annual Softball Classic to raise money for a local elementary school.

Rocket players that joined McGrady included Mike James, Aaron Brooks, Steve Francis, John Lucas III, Chuck Hayes, Kirk Snyder, Luther Head, and GM Daryl Morey. Other NBA players and friends like Jermaine O’Neal, Sam Cassell, Glen ‘Big Baby’ Davis, and James Posey also played in the game.

I don’t know about you, but I have always been amazed what McGrady can do with such skinny ankles. It looks like they can break so easily! Be careful out there, Mac!

For more photos from the event, click here.

Here’s an interesting article in Business Week about the top 5 Chinese athletes with endorsement deals. Of course, Yao Ming is still at the top.

They haven’t got married yet, but Yao Ming and his fiancee Ye Li got their pre-wedding photos taken early Tuesday morning at a resort called Taihu Yuan Resort in the city of Lin’an, just 2 hours from Ye Li’s hometown.

Yao apparently liked the scenery so much, he asked about environmental protection measures like the flow of tourists.

Click here for more photos from their session. Thanks go to Raymond for the photos.

Raymond has translated another interview of Yao in the YaoMania! forum. I’m not sure if I believe one part of what this Chinese reporter has written, though.

It wouldn’t be the first time a Chinese reporter may have taken liberty in putting words in Yao’s mouth. So I preface this interview with “reader beware” — not all of it may be true. Can you guess which part it is?

In case you were wondering since our last update on Yao, he had been continuing his workouts in Beijing with Anthony Falsone and getting more big-man instruction from Rockets former GM Carroll Dawson. But he had to stop for a few days because of an inflamed wisdom tooth, and yesterday got it treated. If you care, here are some photos of Yao waiting to get treated at the dentist.

Afterwards, Yao flew back to Shanghai where he will continue to work on his shoulder and conditioning. Sometime in August he will get married and go on his honeymoon.

Meanwhile, the Chinese National Team departed for Guangzou/Macau where they will compete in the FIBA Stankovic Continental Cup tournament from July 28th through August 2nd.

Yao will rejoin the team on August 29th and should be able to return to action against the Melbourne Tigers on September 3rd.

Thanks always to Raymond in China for what Yao’s been doing in China.

Raymond, our correspondent in China, has translated one of the first articles written about Yao Ming‘s thoughts about getting reunited with former Rocket guard Steve Francis after he was acquired last Friday by Houston. Raymond says that many Chinese are extremely happy that Francis is coming back to play with Yao.

Raymond has also put together a collage of old photos of Yao and Francis in this YaoMania! forum to show how well they got along with each other as teammates.

Written by a Titan Sports writer and appearing on Tom.com, here’s Raymond’s translation with some interesting quotes highlighted:

Two days after the announcement that he had signed a 2-year $5 million contract (with a player option in the second year) with the Houston Rockets, Steve Francis finally returned to Houston where he originally belonged. He happily picked up the telephone, dialed Yao Ming’s number and yelled out loud to him who was far away in China: “Hey ! I’ve come back!!”

“Ever since I arrived into the NBA, I just watched (helplessly) teammates after teammates traded away (at the end of every season). Teammates that I was familiar with got traded away, and in came some strangers, one after the other. You just have to go through such cycle of knowing new teammates, sending off acquainted teammates and then new teammates again. I have already got used to this kind of feeling, but this is not a good feeling at all. Now finally an old friend manages to return, and he is no one but my Lao Da.”

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With the premiere of The Simpsons movie in the U.S. coming up next Friday, this article from today’s San Jose Mercury News recounts how many athletes over the years have done cameos on the show.

One of those athletes was Yao Ming three years ago during the episode that aired after the Super Bowl. Below is the most relevant excerpt from the article, including my highlighting some humorous dialog from the show involving Yao (remember it?):

Athletes do it not for the cash, but for the cachet. Bill Sanders, the marketing representative for Yao Ming, pursued a cameo soon after his client arrived in the NBA from China.

Yao: “Shut up, kid. I have a good thing going here.”

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