His poetry collections in Chinese and Portuguese include Writing on the Wings of the Wind, One Horizon—Two Views, A Noite Deita-se Comigo, Faraway Song, and When the Fish Close Their Eyes. He has edited and translated the anthologies Selecta de Poetas Portugueses Contemporâneos, Um Barco Remenda o Mar, and a collection of Eugénio de Andrade, among others. Yao was the winner of the fourteenth Rougang Poetry Award in 2004. In 2006, he was awarded the Ordem Militar de Santiago de Espada medal by the president of Portugal.