Yao Ming, the most popular basketball player in China, will officially announce his retirement at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon.

Yao Ming's team of managers have booked a large reception hall at a hotel in Yao's hometown - the Pudong section of Shanghai. According to Yao's team, over 100 news organizations have applied to cover the press conference that will start at 2:00 pm.

China's state television CCTV said they would run a four-hour program on Yao Ming Wednesday afternoon, including a live broadcast of the press conference.