About 8 days ago Yao Ming and his wife Ye Li attended “Artistry on Ice” featuring some of the world’s top figure skaters at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center. Sitting with them were the TV-movie star couple Deng Chao and Sun Li.

Click here for more photos of Yao at the “Artistry on Ice” event.

After the show, Yao and Ye Li met with Jeffey Buttle and Joannie Rochette, Olympic medalists and World Champions from Canada. Look how small they look!

On June 20th, Yao appeared in a press conference to announce he will be part of Celebrity Pro-Am golf tournament in October at the Mission Hills golf course in Haikou of Hainan Island.

Yao will be the Charity Ambassador for the 2nd bi-annual tournament, which will benefit the Yao Ming Foundation and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The tournament was first staged in 2010 and has already become one of the region`s leading lifestyle and entertainment events.

At the press conference, Yao said he has become addicted to golf.

“I am a totally fresh hand in golf and just began to learn how to play it. Golf is a good experience, and it brings back fond memories of when I was strong-minded and determined to go on the path when I started to learn basketball in my childhood.”

Yao also said he hopes golf will help him keep fit since he has been struggling to control his weight since retirement.

“If golf proves useful in weight control, I will persist with it,” he said.

This year’s 2012 Mission Hills World Celebrity Pro-Am, like the inaugural one, will feature many famous professionals, celebrities and movie stars from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the world.

Joining Yao will be Brazilian football superstar Ronaldo, Chinese gymnast and international businessman Li Ning, former world number one snooker player Stephen Hendry and past Masters champion Ian Woosnam.

Celebrities include famous film directors Feng Xiaogang and He Ping, film actors Wang Zhiwen, Chen Tao-ming, Zhang Guoli, Sun Nan, Leon Lai, Coco Lee, Charlie Young, Simon Yam and Michelle Chen. More celebrities will be announced later.

The professional golfers who will play will compete for a prize purse of $1 million.

Click here for more photos and information from the press conference.

Last week I was fortunate to attend the men’s U.S. Open in San Francisco. Wednesday was a practice round day where fans were allowed to bring in cameras. I decided to follow Andy Zhang, the 14-year old Chinese kid who became the youngest golfer to ever qualify for the tournament.

In case you missed all the news about him, Zhang, who qualified as an alternate, learned Monday night that he had qualified to play in the Open because two other golfers had to withdraw because of injuries.

The New York Times has a pretty good write-up of Zhang’s journey here. Here’s an excerpt of Zhang’s story.

Zhang was introduced to the game at 6 ½ by his father, a recreational golfer who shoots in the high 90s. At the two-tiered driving range in Beijing where Zhang’s father took him, a South Korean coach, An Qi Huan, happened to see Zhang’s first swings. He told his father that Zhang had talent and offered to work with him. “If he hadn’t been there that day, I would not be here,” Zhang said. “I would still be in China going to school every day.”

At 10, Zhang traveled to the United States to participate in two junior tournaments and was transfixed by the quality and sheer number of courses. “I liked it a lot,” he said. “In China you don’t ever get to hit range balls off real grass. You have to hit it on a mat.” He added, “Golf hasn’t developed too much in China. It’s not really as good as here.”

Accompanied by his mother, Hui Li, Zhang moved to Florida to attend the IMG Leadbetter Academy in Bradenton.

Check out some of the photos below I took of Zhang, who looks very mature and has great skills for someone his age. Amazing.

Here’s a Youtube story about Andy:

Below is another Youtube video, with comments about Zhang from Tiger Woods, Bubba Watson, and Rory McIlroy:

Zhang ended up missing the cut on one of the toughest U.S. Open courses in history where some of the world’s best golfers ran up very high scores, or missed the cut (Webb Simpson won with a +1 score).

It’s been a busy couple of weeks for Yao since our last update, so here’s a summary of what he has been doing since then (thanks to Raymond for the summaries):

Yao Ming and Liu Xiang appeared at the opening ceremony of the inaugural Shanghai Municipal amateur public competition on June 10.

The purpose of the competition is to raise awareness on the importance of physical fitness, so the Shanghai Municipal Sports Bureau will organize Shanghai’s inaugural amateur public sports competition for all Shanghai residents, as well as tourists and ex-pats working and living in Shanghai to participate.

The event will last for 5 months, starting June 10th all the way through November 17, and apart from basketball, football, volleyball, table tennis, badminton, and swimming competitions, it will feature a range of demonstrations, from body-building to more traditional Chinese sports such as martial arts.

Around June 6th, Yao Ming’s Shanghai MAXXIS Sharks officially called off a trip to The Philippines for so-called “goodwill games” amidst a tense Chinese-Filipino territorial dispute.

On June 9th, Yao Ming went to Linshu of Shandong to donate RMB 1.5M for the 14th Yao Foundation Project Hope Primary School.

Yao took a late evening flight to fly Qingdao from Shanghai on June 8, and had to travel by car for 3 to 4 hours to arrive in Linshu.

This will be the very first Yao Foundation Project Hope Primary School in East China. The first thirteen Yao Foundation Project Hope primary schools were in the Southwest provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou and Qinghai.

The RMB 1.5 million will be used to refurbish and build new school complex and facilities at an old school, the Taoyuan Elementary School founded in 1985. The Taoyuan Elementary School currently has six classes, 350 students, and 16 teachers.

After the refurbishment and expansion, it is expected the new school will be able to educate more than 700 students, and will become much larger with new sports facilities and equipment.

Yao Ming’s 2009 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon won a silver medal at the world’s most authoritative and prestigious Decanter World Wine Awards in London.

President and Director of Winemaking Tom Hinde stated, “This is not an easy competition, and the best wines from around the world are showcased. To win a silver medal for our inaugural vintage confirms our dedication to producing superior wines that are a true representation of Napa Valley quality.”

The Decanter World Wine Awards is the world’s leading wine competition. The competition is well known for its rigorous judging process, which has led to the Decanter World Wine Awards becoming the most trusted and prestigious source of wine recommendations for wine lovers worldwide. This year, over 200 judges from around the world assessed 14,119 wines from 47 countries, the largest entry ever for the Decanter World Wine Awards. The judging panel consisted of wine merchants, sommeliers, journalists and authors, including 54 Masters of Wine and 11 Master Sommeliers.

The 2012 Decanter World Wine Awards were announced on May 22, 2012 at The London International Wine Fair.

On Friday, Yao hosted in Shanghai a VIP banquet for celebrities and wine enthusiasts, which also served as a welcome dinner and reception for Adam Strum, the co-founder and publisher of Wine Enthusiast Magazine. Strum flew to Shanghai to launch the Mandarin edition of Wine Enthusiast Magazine.

Pictured below is the inaugural cover (June 2012) with Yao on the front, and a photo of Yao with Strum pictured behind him.

You might notice the headline on the magazine cover that mentions the “97 points” for Yao’s wine. Yao Ming’s 2009 Family Reserve received an exceptional score of 97 points from Wine Enthusiast magazine, while his 2009 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon received a score of 95 points. The wines were rated by well-known California editor, Steve Heimoff, in the June issue of the magazine.

Click here to learn more about the ratings the wines received.

Check out this video with Yao posted yesterday where he talks about his busy life in retirement, including his involvement with conservation efforts…

For more information on the Yao Foundation and its new conservation initiatives, click here.

You may be familiar with those exclusive, big coffee table books that feature celebrities like Michael Jackson, etc., teams like Manchester United and the Ferrari Formula One team, and sports like Major League Baseball.

Yesterday it was announced there will be a similar book about Yao, called Yao Ming Opus, published by Opus Media Group UK, the publishers that have produced the aforementioned books, and Time Media Publishing and Media, a Chinese company based in Anhui province.

According to China Daily, the book will boast a large range of photos taken during Yao’s teenage years, his professional career and life after basketball, with both English and Chinese text.

The photos were provided by Yao or purchased from news agencies, and also include new pictures taken by the photographers of the two companies. The text will be completed by a team of five writers. The book is expected to weigh 16 kg (35 pounds), and is scheduled to be published next year.

Opus’ CEO, Karl Fowler, said, “We could not think of a more sincere, unique and exciting story to tell, using great photographs and great writing to reveal his story not just in China, but internationally.”

Yao said that when he first saw an Opus publication he thought it was like a comic book. But as he turned the pages he realized the book was something people should take seriously.

“Although we live in a digital age, a photo can capture and keep every precious moment forever and will not fade as time goes by,” he said.

Yao also stated, “I spent many hours looking through my Manchester United Opus and what I found fascinating was the way in which photography presented in this way illustrated the history so well. I am so very humbled that Opus and Time are looking to share my own special moments and thoughts in a similar unique manner.”

On Wednesday in Shanghai, Yao signed a signature page that will be placed in copy number one of Yao Ming Opus. Opus will auction that copy next year and donate the proceeds to the Yao Foundation.

For more photos from the signing ceremony and more news about the project, click here.

Fans can register here their interest in Yao Ming Opus.

Even after a year in retirement, Yao is still ranking high on Forbes’ (China) annual Top 100 celebrity list.

The list is compiled by looking at several variables, like earnings and buzz (in newspapers, Internet, TV and magazines). Yao ranked #8 overall, and #9 in earnings.

Li Na is ranked as the top athlete, helped by her winning the 2011 French Open.

Jay Chou ranked as the #1 celebrity overall.

Click here for a list and photos of the Top 10.

Last week photos started surfacing of Jeremy Lin‘s new Nike Air Force 1 shoe, scheduled to hit the market in June.

Note the New York Knicks colors used throughout the shoe. Hopefully for Nike (and the Knicks), Lin won’t sign with another team this off-season since he’ll be a free agent.

Also, notice the “LIN” logo on the tongue.

Below is video of Jeremy Lin working out before Saturday’s Knicks-Heat game in Miami. He is looking pretty good recovering from his knee injury, but so far there is no timetable for his return. Lord knows the Knicks need him after getting blown out in Game 1 on Saturday, and teammate Iman Schumpert blowing out his ACL during that game.

In case you missed it, last week Jeremy appeared at Time Magazine’s 100 Gala to honor the magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World. Below he is pictured with Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York. Click here to see Jeremy with other celebrities at the event.

Even after retiring from basketball 10 months ago, Yao Ming still gets rock star attention in China.

On Friday in Beijing, Yao showed up at a university, and many of the students there skipped their classes and followed him around, taking photos and posting them on their microblogs.

Yao visited the China Youth University for Political Sciences in Beijing to announce his Foundation’s launch of the inaugural Project Hope Primary School Basketball League season.

This will be the first ever nationwide basketball league for 47 Project Hope primary schools (including the 6 Yao Foundation Project Hope Primary Schools that the Yao Foundation had built in the past 4 years, with 7 more in various construction/refurbishment stage).

In his speech, Yao said he wished through this project that it will provide — through basketball — that poor kids in some of the backward cities and provinces can participate and get new opportunities for growth and development.

Click here for more photos and information from the announcement.

Friday also happened to be the 10th anniversary of Yao’s Shanghai Sharks winning the China Basketball Association championship in a game where Yao scored 44 points on 21-of-21 shooting from the floor, grabbed 21 rebounds, and blocked 7 shots. No wonder Yao is still so admired in China.