NEW YORK, March 29 (Xinhua) -- The Houston Rockets and the New Orleans Pelicans will play two NBA pre-season games in October, NBA announced on Tuesday.

The Houston Rockets will play the Pelicans October 9 in Shanghai and October 12 at Beijing.

It will be the Rockets' fourth visit to China and the first trip for the Pelicans.

The Rockets have been one of the favorite NBA teams in China as Chinese star center Yao Ming played for the club between 2002 and 2011.

Yao was playing for the Rockets when the team played in his hometown of Shanghai in 2004 before a sold-out crowd.