Traditional Beijing drink a taste too far for NBA star Wade

NBA All Star guard Dwyane Wade learns Chinese calligraphy during the Beijing stop of his 2015 China Tour on Sunday. Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn

Wade's popularity has helped WOW products become one of the best-selling personal lines in the highly competitive Chinese sporting goods market, which is dominated by international brands such as Nike and adidas.

"The partnership in the first year happened very fast we didn't have the chance to really learn from each other. In the last two years, both sides are trying to get comfortable with each other and I think we are making waves.

"My vision and goal one day is when I travel around the world, I want to see a lot of people wear Li-Ning," he said.

Wade also announced the winner of the Li-Ning WOW sneaker design contest before playing basketball-themed games with selected fans at a fan-appreciation activity at Li-Ning's Beijing headquarters on Sunday.

Before coming to China, the 33-year-old shooting guard re-signed a one-year contract with the Heat for $20 million after opting out of a previous contract with Miami to become a free agent, who could potentially sign a longer and more lucrative deal with another team.

"When you are a free agent, obviously you have your options to see where you fit. So I approached the same way (other players did) even though my heart is in Miami," he said.

"I had a consideration from a business standpoint to see if everything I wanted in the team, the organization and the city was there. And it just happened in Miami that we are able to work things out for both sides, so I am happy to be back for another year and I think we have a good team".

Selected by the Heat as overall fifth pick in the 2002 NBA Draft, Wade led the team to its first NBA championship in franchise history in 2006 and then bagged back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013 together with star teammates LeBron James and Chris Bosh.