Chinese professional basketball player Yao Ming married his long-term girlfriend Monday August 6th at an upmarket Shanghai hotel in front of 100 relatives.
- Aug 7, 2007
AceShowbiz - Yao Ming is off the market. The Chinese professional basketball player and the best center in the National Basketball Association (NBA) today, married his longtime girlfriend Ye Li in a private ceremony held at a swanky hotel in his hometown of Shanghai Monday August 6th.
The three hour wedding ceremony, held at the five-star Shangri-La Hotel, was attended by more than 70 family members who along with the newlyweds will cruise the Huangpu River in a luxury houseboat, it has been reported.
There were reportedly 100 reporters staked out the riverside hotel's lobby, but Yao sent a message that he would give no interviews. However, he sent each of them a compact disc of studio wedding photos, along with celebratory candy.
Yao and Ye, a basketball player for the Chinese national women's team, already pocketed their official marriage certificate last Friday. The couple has been dating for about seven years.
Following their $130,000 wedding, Yao and Ye will go to Beijing on Tuesday August 7th to take part in festivities celebrating the one-year mark until the opening of the Beijing Olympic Games. And since there were no teammates, coaches or basketball officials invited into the wedding, the pair will host a dinner for members of China's men's and women's basketball teams during their stay there.
