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Basketball star Yao Ming, arguably the most famous Chinese figure in world sport, hopes his involvement in the 2022 Winter Olympics bid will help to promote a healthier lifestyle among his fellow countrymen.
Having experienced the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics as an athlete, Yao, who retired from the National Basketball Association in 2011 because of injury, is impressed by the Game's legacy of promoting mass participation in sport.
"As part of the Games' rich heritage, public recognition of sport as not only a form of exercise, but also a means of achieving individual and social development has been raised since 2008," Yao told China Daily during the recent annual session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in Beijing.
Yao has taken on an ambassadorial role to help promote the joint bid by Beijing and Zhangjiakou in Hebei province, and expects to see the positive momentum from 2008 continue to benefit the Chinese public.
"Though I have had little to do with winter sports, I am excited and honored to be part of Beijing's bid," said Yao, who was named as one of six bid ambassadors in February.
"As most winter sports feature outdoor activities, hosting the Winter Olympics would encourage more people to become involved in outdoor events. This echoes the pursuit of harmony between human activity and the natural environment."
The other bid ambassadors are former figure skating world champions Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo, Olympic champion speed skater Zhang Hong, Olympic freestyle skier Li Nina and paralympics high jumper Hou Bin.
According to Beijing's candidature file, which was submitted to the International Olympic Committee in February, the bid is expected to encourage 300 million people in North China to become involved in winter sports.
Yao said that hosting Games for a second time would help to deepen the public's understanding of the function of sport in society and build on the legacy of the 2008 Summer Olympics.
"If we had not had the 2008 Olympics in China, we wouldn't have realized that sport should play a much bigger role than just producing gold medals and elite results," added the 34-year-old, who owns Chinese Basketball Association club Shanghai Sharks.
China has shifted its focus from golds to public well-being by developing mass fitness campaigns and supporting the sports industry.
sunxiaochen@chinadaily.com.cn
