They have recruited sports stars like Yao Ming , the Shanghai-born center of the Houston Rockets , and Liu Xiang , China 's gold-medalist hurdler , as icons of a confident sports-loving nation .
Yao Ming /people/person/nationality China
PRP VBP VBN NNS NNS IN NNP NNP , DT JJ NN IN DT NNP NNPS , CC NNP NNP , NNP POS JJ NN , IN NNS IN DT JJ JJ NN .
Yao Ming
PERSON
China
LOCATION
/people/person/nationality