BEIJING, Sept. 7 -- Chinese NBA star Yao Ming is China's most marketable athlete with 150 million yuan ($18.5 million) in his wallet, beating out many sports celebrities to top the Forbes magazine's ranking of Chinese athletes, as Beijing Daily Messenger reported.

    Liu Xiang, the 100-meter hurdles Olympic Champion from the 2004 Athens Games, was selected the third most well-known athlete in China.

    In the 2005 poll, which ranked all celebrities in China overall, Liu soared upward to the top three ranking from last year's 90th place. The move came in large part, thanks to his gold medal in Athens.

    When the top 100 celebrities list was released on March 11, 2005, Yao had not yet signed a new five-year contract worth US$76 million with the Houston Rockets, but this has not lessened his desire to win.

    The Forbes poll noted that some differences exist between Olympic champions and many sports stars. In China, league matches have not developed enough maturity, experts say, and common athletes have not yet gotten to the level of a Yao. The NBA star, they say, can serve as a good role model for others entering the sporting ranks.     

    Liu may challenge Yao in the advertising market within a short time, but he won't likely compare with the towering hoopster for a while because Yao's commercial value has been greatly marketed in the United States, Liu's manager said.

    Tian Liang and Guo Jingjing, the Chinese diving prince and queen, were 16th and 17th on the Forbes list.

    After Athens, Guo's social status is already worth up to 1 million yuan, but she said half of her earnings have been handed over to national swimming officials.

    Other well known names on the list included Chinese international soccer fullback Sun Jihai (34), soccer forward Hao Haidong (55), table tennis Olympic champion Zhang Yining (59), tennis Olympic champions Li Ting and Sun Tiantian (62).

    The annual Forbes rankings are based on a composite of media visibility and economic impact, the magazine's publishers said.

(Source: chinadaily.com.cn)