姚明等人任形象大使助力申办2022年冬季奥运会

Six famous Chinese athletes, including former basketball player Yao Ming, were appointed as ambassadors for China's bid for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games on Tuesday in Beijing.

The six athletes, namely Yao Ming, former figure skating pair Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo, speed skater Zhang Hong, aerial skier Li Nina, and Paralympic Games champion Hou Bin, were called upon to promote Beijing's bid for the Games around the world.

Yao Ming says he is honored to contribute to Beijing's efforts to host the winter games.

"I can still remember that China bid for the 2008 Olympic Games in 2001, when I was too young to make any contribution. Many of my predecessors, as well as my former teammates, including Wang Zhizhi, have contributed a lot for the bidding. I am very happy and honored to have the chance to make my own efforts for Beijing's bid for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games," said Yao Ming.

Beijing would co-host the games with Zhangjiakou, a city in north China's Hebei Province, if granted the winning bid.

China's bid is going head-to-head with Kazakhstan's largest city, Almaty, after the other four candidates -- Oslo of Norway, Stockholm of Sweden, Krakow of Poland and Lviv of Ukraine -- withdrew their bids in 2014.

The winning bid is slated to be announced on July 31 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.