Football Star Cristiano Ronaldo Spotted Signing Walls and Jerseys at Beijing's 798

Beijing footy fans went wild this afternoon (Jul 24) when Real Madrid star forward Cristiano Ronaldo made an appearance at 798 Art District.

The world-famous Portuguese player is in China as part of Nike's Active Schools Innovation Awards, described by Yahoo News as a campaign that honors the "Mainland's most inspiring and innovative physical education (PE) teachers."

Lin "Harry" Pin was among the lucky Beijing members of the Real Madrid Football Fans Association who attended Ronaldo's 798 appearance. The young fan then took to WeChat this afternoon with few photos of the football legend spray painting one of the art zone's brick walls and meeting fans, along with snaps of his newly autographed Ronaldo jersey. Lin tells the Beijinger that Ronaldo was being "kind and friendly," during the meet-and-greet, and though he seemed a little tired and overwhelmed by the crowd, he was nonetheless still tanned and up to the job.

This 798 engagement was preceded by a tour through Shanghai, including a photoshoot on a helipad in 40-plus Celsius degree heat, as well as an event last night at Beijing's Water Cube National Swimming Center, where Ronaldo and fellow mega-famous athletes Li Na and Liu Xiang took to the stage to praise China's top PE teachers. Yahoo News described the ceremony as part of a joint effort between "Nike and the Chinese Ministry of Education that aims to encourage children to get active both inside and outside the classroom." Among the honored educators was Lv Shaowu, a PE teacher from Gansu who purchased sports gear for his students out of pocket and designed a soccer curriculum for those youngsters.

As a reward for his tireless efforts, Ronaldo gave Lv a pair of special Nike CR7 Mercurial Campeões boots. Ronaldo then told the PE teacher: "I'm thrilled to be here and to celebrate all of the PE teachers who are inspiring young athletes in China. The work you do is very important. Congratulations on this award, and thank you for all that you're doing with the kids at your school. You are making a difference in their lives."

More stories by this author here.
Email: kylemullin@truerun.com
Twitter: @MulKyle

Photos courtesy of Lin "Harry" Pin