Yao Ming is a giant in real life, but the towering Chinese basketball player, at 7 feet 6 inches (2.26 m), says he doesn't want to be a hero to millions.

Outside Yao's apartment in downtown Beijing is the Chang'an Avenue that runs east-west through the Tian'anmen Square in the center of the Chinese capital.

A military parade to celebrate the 60th birthday of New China was held here on Oct. 1, but Yao, who was being treated for his foot injury in America, missed the grand ceremony.

"It's a great pity, but I still want to say 'happy birthday' to my homeland," says Yao.

Since he first appeared on the professional sports stage in NBA seven years ago Yao has spent most of his time in the U.S. Yet his Chinese origins have never been ignored by the media, and it's often beyond sport arena.

With his tremendous success on the court and the patriotism of "answering the motherland's call at any time", Yao is perceived more as a national hero in China than as a basketball superstar.

However, Yao aged 29 says, "I have never thought of myself as a hero. When I was a little boy, the heroes I knew were those who sacrificed their lives for the country. When I grew up, heroes to me were Olympic gold medalists like gymnast Li Ning, and the world champion (the national) women's volleyball team. Mine achievements are not comparable to theirs."

"BAPTISM OF CHINESE MEDICINE SOUP"

Born on Sept. 12, 1980 in Shanghai, Yao is the only child of Yao Zhiyuan and Fang Fengdi, who both were former professional basketball players.

The first thing that the baby Yao Ming tasted was not breast milk, but a bowl of bitter soup of "Huang Lian" -- Chinese Goldthread or coptis -- normally given as a treatment to reduce fever.

"My father said it's local custom. Children who know bitterness first will have a better understanding of what sweet is later," Yao recalls.

As Yao started to savor life, China was embracing a period of rapid development when the whole nation was steered to reform and open up. Yao, who is keen on Chinese history, takes the historic turning point as an indispensable part of understanding the 60-year-old People's Republic of China (PRC).

Among the most important three events over the past 60 years, Yao says, "the founding of PRC comes first as all the Chinese were united to build a new country; the second is the Cultural Revolution, when the country became isolated to the outside world, and the third is China's reform and opening-up, the decision is proved right so far."

Like his peers, Yao began his collectivism-orientated education in kindergarten. However, his favorite pastime after school was to play Japanese video games in the game rooms, in defiance of his parents' objection.

Basketball has been popular in China since the late 19th century, but Yao showed little interest in the sport despite being tall for his age since childhood.

His parents rose through the ranks of a Soviet-style sports system, in which hundreds of thousands of athletes underwent years of brutal training to bring glory to the motherland, but they were not intent on making Yao another basketball player.

"They didn't want me to become a person who can't do anything but play basketball," says Yao. "They wanted me to be same as other children, being a good student, with good health, and then find a good job after graduation from a famous college."

However, when he was nine years old, Yao was sent by his parents to the sports school to learn to play basketball. They thought it would make it easier for him to get into a good college if he was a talented sports player.

Yao practiced more than eight hours everyday before he joined the Shanghai junior basketball team at the age of 13.

"It was an era of glory and dream," Yao says. "Serving the country was the basic education in our training. Li Ning and woman volleyball attacker Lang Ping were our role models. My dream was to win a spot in the national team."

The training mechanism demanding great obedience has shaped the teenager into a player with a strong sense of discipline, a quality that Yao now thinks is particularly suitable for a team sport like basketball.

"I'm never an adventurer. I prefer to be moderate," says Yao. "For instance, I always drive on the same road from home to training center, and I seldom take chances when shooting baskets that may cause fouls. Most of my foreign teammates would rather take the risk."

But, Yao says his moderation differs from the "absolute obedience" of his parents.

"I'm more open and independent than they were. When my parents were players, they had few choices. Now our generation has more access to information, and more opportunities to control our future."

A "CAPITALIST" MADE IN CHINA

Yao made a bold decision to play basketball on another hemisphere of the planet, when the NBA fixed its gaze on China, a market with 1.3 billion potential consumers.

He entered the 2002 NBA Draft, and was selected by the Houston Rockets as the first overall pick of the draft.

Though not the first Chinese to play for the NBA -- his national teammate Wang Zhizhi was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks in 1999 -- Yao is by far the most prominent.

"Thirty years ago, my parents couldn't imagine playing basketball abroad. And we couldn't imagine Chinese players entering the NBA 20 years ago because we weren't good enough," he says.

After joining the NBA, Yao quickly became a "millionaire". Even before he landed in the U.S. he had his first endorsement contract, worth a reported 11 million U.S. dollars.

"With such a huge sum 30 years ago, I would be called a 'capitalist'. I worked hard for it, so I am still a blue collar," he says with a smile.

In fact, Yao has to conquer more than the rigors of the NBA in his career.

As he takes a place in an arena with few yellow faces, Yao is seen as "the successful export of a socialist market economy" in America, and "a symbol of the Chinese dream" in his homeland.

"No matter how I perform, the detailed, sometimes exaggerated reports hit newsstands later. I was under the pressure I had never felt before and was fearful of letting my country down," he says.

Gradually, Yao learned to adapt to the weight of expectations.

"I came to realize the most important thing is not what others see in you, but what you see in yourself. I told myself just 'play your part'," says Yao.

He adds, "I'm always excited to wear the apparel of Chinese national team, especially at the Olympics."

There were other adjustments. Loneliness hits the giant when his foreign teammates pray before games.

"There's a moment that I feel all empty in my head. I don't have that spiritual support. At this time, to win the game becomes my sheer motivation," says Yao.

Seven years of NBA experience has partially changed Yao. Yet part of him never changes.

"I have been trained in America to be more professional on the court. Yes, my way of living and thinking is getting closer to Americans', but "About 20 to 30 percent of me is Chinese. That is part of what may be called our nation's character -- moderation, diligence and tolerance. These values derive from the 5,000-year civilization," he says.

Today's Yao Ming is not merely a sportsman. He holds the title of "Boss Yao" as he starts his own businesses of restaurants and a gymnasium. He has expanded his business kingdom to the sports field by taking over the financially troubled former club the Shanghai Sharks in July.

In addition, he plans to devote more of his resources to charity and spend more time with his family.

Yao says he looks forward to retirement. "I would like to do a lot of traveling, and visit places where important historic events have taken place."

London tops his list of the must-go places in the world, because "when I was seven or eight, I saw a picture of my father taken in London, when he was participating a game there," Yao recalls.

"The background is the London Bridge. My father, in winter clothing, looks very tall and handsome. I want to take a photo of myself in the same place some day," he says.

"It will be very interesting if my child can do the same. When put together, these pictures show how time goes by."