There are times when all Yao Ming wants to do in his time off is sleep. Slumber is a luxury that the 24-year-old Shanghai native has little time for. From October to June, he leads a busy life in America, playing center for the NBA’s Houston Rockets in Texas and spending some 80 nights a year on the road with his team mates.

When the NBA season ends, Yao usually heads back to his homeland, where he plays for the Chinese National Team. This summer, though, he’ll finally get a few weeks of much deserved rest. The Chinese star says all he wants to do is relax and do absolutely nothing — a state of being that he is little acquainted with.

Still, Yao loves the opportunity to play for his home country. Playing for Team China in the 2004 Athens Olympics was a great honor, he says, and the emotional 67-66 win over Serbia-Montenegro in the quarterfinals was a game he’ll never forget.

“Even though I was disappointed that our team didn’t get on the medal stand, it was such an amazing event for me to be a part of,” says Yao. “I think our basketball team is going to be much better in four years. The new developing stars will be pointing toward the games and I intend to be much better, too!”

In the NBA off season, Ming plays basketball for his homeland on the Chinese National Team.

The energetic sportsman, who is well-known by basketball lovers around the world, rarely stops working. Advertising endorsement offers come at Yao constantly, but he only accepts a select few. Such endorsements have introduced Yao Ming to non-basketball fans. His humorous TV commercial for Visa was a favorite among American viewers, making Yao a well-known celebrity there.

Yet, there is more to Yao than his athletic skill and business savvy. In a way, he has become a conduit between cultures. Sports is a universal language, and Yao has served as a translator, bringing China and America — two very different nations — together in their adoration of this fun-loving, wisecracking young man who has a gift with a basketball.

“Yao tries to bridge the gap between the two cultures,” says Tim McDougal, vice president of marketing at the Houston Rockets. “He’s found a way to be a stand-out person in both societies.”

The basketball star was thrilled to show the Houston Rockets his hometown this last October when the American team played an exhibition game in Shanghai. Yao took his coaches and team mates on an impromptu tour of the city, introducing them to his friends, pointing out the apartment building where he grew up, and even visiting the primary school he attended. Best of all, Yao was able to share some of the Chinese culture and tradition that is such a huge part of him.

The basketball player is hugely popular in Shanghai, for it was here that Yao — whose parents both played for Chinese National Teams — began his rise to basketball stardom, playing on the Shanghai Youth Team at age 14 and then the Chinese National Team at 18.

As a child, Yao dreamed of being an explorer and pioneer — and his skills have allowed that dream to come true. The 7’ 6” (2.28 m) star just finished his third season with the Rockets, having been an All-Star Game starter all three seasons. He has obviously adapted to the fast pace of pro-ball in the NBA.

He has also adapted well to life in Houston, which is home to some 120,000 Chinese-Americans. He’s gotten used to driving in the city’s crazy traffic, developed a love for huge steaks and made good friends.