Yao, who carried the Chinese flag at the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Games before leading the team to the quarter-finals, will reprise an ambassadorial role he also served at last year's Summer Youth Olympics Games in Nanjing.

The 7ft 6in tall former National Basketball Association Houston Rockets star joins figure skating husband and wife pairing Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo, who together won Olympic gold at Vancouver 2010, as well as three World Championship titles.

Two-time Olympic silver-medal winning aerial skier Li Nina is also selected alongside Sochi 2014 speed skating champion, Zhang Hong.

The group is completed by Hou Bin, the one-legged high jumper who dazzled audiences with his sensational gold medal winning performances at the Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 Paralympics. 

All five were unveiled in a special event organised in the Beijing 2022 Bid Committee's headquarters in the presence of vice-president Zhang Jiandong and Chinese Olympic Committee secretary general, Song Luzeng.

The sporting ambassadors, with the giant figure of Yao Ming in the centre, pose following their unveiling ©Beijing 2022




The six athletes, considered "the face[s] of Chinese Olympic successes who are recognised both at home and internationally", will actively participate in the development of the Beijing 2022 plans, to ensure that all athletes' needs are met.

Although retired and not a winter sports star, the use of Yao, China's best known sportsman in a global sense, is also a means to raise the international profile of the bid at a time when both Beijing and its only rival Almaty are aiming to boost support at home and abroad.

"I think the Beijing 2022 bid is a great opportunity," he said.

"Beijing already has some good experience as an Olympic host and good infrastructure from 2008, Beijing 2022 would bring it all to a new level and make more people understand sport and be involved.

"It is very important, as sport is more than just a physical competition, it is a way to forge character and discipline."

Similar sentiments were reiterated by the other ambassadors following the unveiling, with the winter sports stars all hailing how the bid could have a major impact on the growth of winter disciplines in the world's most populous nation.

Hou Bin, who memorably hauled himself and his wheelchair to the Bird's Nest's roof to light the Cauldron to open the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, claimed the Games could have positive impact on winter sport for the disabled, providing them with more opportunities to "live their lives to the fullest and enjoy sports all-year-round".

Hou Bin performing superhuman feats at the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games ©AFP/Getty Images



The next challenge in the race - from which Stockholm, Kraków, Lviv and Oslo all withdrew last year - will come at the end of this week when the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) Evaluation Commission, chaired by Russian IOC member Alexander Zhukov, is due to inspect Almaty from February 14 to 18.