[1] Under the new head coach Slobodan Santrač he would immediately rise to become an integral member of the 1999 Shandong team that won the league and cup double.
[2] By the 2007 league season Gao Yao had, however dropped out of the first team and he saw his playing time limited when Liu Jindong emerged as Ljubiša Tumbaković's preferred option.
On April 25, 2000 Gao Yao would make his debut in a friendly against Hong Kong in a 1-0 win.
[3] After several further friendlies in preparation for the 2002 FIFA World Cup Gao Yao was the surprise inclusions in the squad despite never playing in any competitive games.
[4] The Chinese head coach Bora Milutinović stated that he wanted a versatile player who was also good a man marker, however during the tournament he did not play in any of the games at the tournament when China were knocked out in the group stages.