Yao Ming revisited his old elementary school on Wednesday to help promote reading amongst younger children.

The NBA sponsored educational program that took the 7-foot-6 basketball player back to his alma mater was just one part of the promotional juggernaut that has descended on Yao's hometown ahead of Thursday's exhibition game against the Sacramento Kings, the first NBA game in China.

"Big brother Yao, big brother Yao," yelled students as Yao, Houston Rockets teammate Dikembe Mutombo, NBA commissioner David Stern and others strode into the tiny Gao'an Road No. 1 Primary School in a crowded neighborhood of Shanghai.

"As an alumnus of this school, I want to tell you a story to teach you about the value of learning," he said before reading a story from Winnie the Pooh in Chinese, with English provided by WNBA star Diana Taurasi.

Earlier in the day, Yao worked out at Shanghai's heavily refurbished city gym with new Houston acquisition Tracy McGrady and the rest of the team. McGrady, the NBA's leading scorer, said he looked forward to pairing with Yao even though it means he'll be out of the spotlight.

Houston coach Jeff Van Gundy said McGrady, Yao and Jim Jackson will be among the starting five Thursday. A second game between the teams will be held in Beijing on Sunday.

Yao is hugely popular in Shanghai and his return has dominated headlines. His image looks down from a five-story poster fronting the team's hotel. Other ads featuring Yao pitching everything from soft drinks to cell phones are all over town.

"I hope that he enjoys his moment because he has worked very hard to come home [to Shanghai] with the NBA," Van Gundy said.  

Kings coach Rick Adelman said China's latest NBA hopeful, point guard Liu Wei, will make his debut with them on Thursday. Liu, a teammate of Yao's on China's Olympic team, was invited to the Kings' training camp in July.

"I'm not thinking too much about it right now and trying not to give myself too much pressure," said Liu, a star of Yao's old team, the Shanghai Sharks. "I'm just enjoying myself and trying to learn as much as possible."

(China Daily October 14, 2004)