Yao Ming attends a dinner banquet hosted by the Yao Ming Fan Club in Houston on Thursday. [Photo by May Zhou/China Daily]

"Although we wish you could keep wearing that jersey for our Rockets forever and ever, we celebrate this retirement as a bookend to the incredible athletic career of a true Houstonian," Turner said at the reception.

"Whether it is here, or in China, wherever you go, we trust that Houston will be well-represented."

"Houston became famous in China because of you, Mr. Yao Ming," Chinese Consul General Li Qiangmin said.

"Yao Ming has set a good model for us, to be a world talent," Li said. "We should keep an open mind to the world. ...We hope other countries will also keep their doors open to us, so we can cooperate together toward a bright future."

"Just the very idea that he's the very first Chinese player who is not only a Hall of Famer but to have his jersey retired by his professional team is something he and we are proud of. It's a partnership since 2002, and it will last as long as we are together," Tad Brown, CEO of Houston Rockets, said during a previous interview.