(2009-03-19)

Madame Tussauds unveils Yao Ming wax figure in NYC

Madame Tussauds, a famous wax museum headquartered in London, unveiled the wax figure of Olympian and Houston Rockets' seven-time all-star Yao Ming in New York on Monday.

Yao was welcomed - in wax - for the first time in the United States and welcomed by a troupe of Chinese acrobats performing a gravity-defying gymnastic slam dunk at the unveiling ceremony.

Yao's figure, dressed in his Houston Rocket's uniform and wearing sneakers donated by the NBA, is so tall that Merlin studio artists had to utilize scaffolding in order to sculpt the 2.29-meter wax likeness of the NBA's tallest player, according to a press release issued by public relations agent Rubenstein Communications, Inc.

On loan from Madame Tussauds Shanghai for six months, Yao's figure is posed as if he is about to shoot a basket.

The New York Chinese Culture Center's Acrobatic Troupe soared to tremendous heights performing a gymnastic slam dunk to help welcome Yao's figure to the United States.

Yao's figure will be in good company in the attraction's all-new "Sports Zone," which was also unveiled for the first time on the day.

According to the press release, this new interactive area dedicated to the love of sports will feature wax-immortalized athletes from past and present.

"In addition to rubbing-shoulders with legends such as New York Yankees' Derek Jeter and New York Mets' David Wright, Mdame Tussauds visitors will have the chance to box with Evander Holyfield, shoot hoops next to NBA great Kareem Abdull-Jabbar, tackle the defensive line alongside New York Glant's Eli Manning, stand on the podium with Olympic track and field star Florence Griffith Jyner and play Wii tennis with Billie Jean King looking on.

姚明蜡像亮相纽约杜莎夫人蜡像馆

NBA火箭队中国球员姚明的蜡像十八日首次亮相纽约杜莎夫人蜡像馆，成为该馆的新"热门景观"。

纽约杜莎夫人蜡像馆的市场部主管罗斯玛丽·德尔-普拉多称，蜡像馆工作人员为迎来"姚明"而倍感兴奋。"我们相信展出如姚明这样偶像级人物的蜡像一定能够吸引更多美国和世界其他国家的游客前来参观。"

普拉多还透露，这座姚明的蜡像是从上海杜沙夫人蜡像馆租借而来，在纽约的展期为六个月，是目前馆内"最高大"的蜡像。

"蜡像按照与真人一比一的比例制作而成，因为姚实在太高，制作过程中蜡象师们还搭起了脚手架。"普拉多告诉记者。

普拉多被媒体包围采访的时候，游客们正排队与姚明蜡像合影。来自堪萨斯州的施特菲斯一家为在纽约见到逼真的"姚明"直呼"幸运"。

施特菲斯曾去过中国，对中国球员姚明也较为熟悉。他说："我认为姚是孩子们的好榜样。"

"我相信姚的蜡像在这里展出将有助于增进美中两国人民对彼此文化的了解。"普拉多补充说。