Every year more and more sneaker companies are doing a special China shoe to celebrate the “Year of…” story around Chinese New Year’s but everyone knows Nike was the first sneaker company to celebrate this occasion and it all started with the “Year of…” Air Force 1’s which continued up through the “Year of the Dog” AF1.. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Chinese Animal Zodiac you can read up on it here. For the year of 2009 otherwise known as the Year of the Ox, the shoe of choice behind Nike’s Chinese Zodiac Story will be the Air Max 1 in a Premium treatment. This shoe features various inspiration from the Chinese Revolution and the military uniforms that were worn during that period, which occurred during the 1960’s through the 1970’s. You may notice that written on the tongue are Chinese characters which translated to English means “perseverance” or “hard work”. Additionally on the heel there is an image of a cow with a special treatment to the heel counter that also is inspired by the Chinese Cultural Revolution. We’re being told that these shoes will be released at the beginning of January in Asia Only and will be accompanied by another shoe. Special thanks to kiDulty for the additional exclusive photos for Sneaker News.

More photos below…