Hong Kong's First Astronaut Arrives at China's Space Station

China News Service, Jiuquan, Gansu, May 25 (Reporter Ma Shuaisha) On May 25, "Tiangong" welcomed the first astronaut from Hong Kong-Li Jiaying.

At 23:08 on May 24, astronauts Zhu Yangzhu, Zhang Zhiyuan, and Li Jiaying boarded the Shenzhou 23 spacecraft and set sail. Before entering the spacecraft, Li Jiaying waved hello to the camera with a smile, and specially showed the national flag on her shoulders. Then she expressed her heart with both hands and gave a thumbs up.

During this expedition, Li Jiaying became the fourth Chinese woman to fly and the first of the fourth batch of Chinese astronauts to carry out a flight mission.

At 2:45 the next day, the spacecraft successfully docked at the radial port of the Tianhe core module of the Chinese Space Station, and the three astronauts "arrived" smoothly.

A banner with the words "Welcome teammates" was hung up in the space station early. At 5:13, the crew of Shenzhou 21 opened the "door" and warmly welcomed their teammates who came from afar. Having been on a "business trip in space" for more than 200 days, they gathered at the "doorstep" of their home, waiting with great anticipation to meet the new crew.

On May 25, the astronaut crew of Shenzhou 23 successfully entered the "Tiangong", and Chinese astronauts completed the 8th "space rendezvous". (Photo courtesy of China Manned Space Engineering Office)

This is the eighth "space rendezvous" in China's aerospace history, and it is also the first time that China's second, third and fourth batches of astronauts have gathered in the "Tiangong".

"I haven't seen each other for 7 months and I miss them very much." Zhu Yangzhu, commander of the Shenzhou 23 crew, took the lead in flying into the node module of the space station and hugged tightly with the three astronauts of the Shenzhou 21 crew.

"The Chinese Space Station is always worth looking forward to." Later, the two astronaut crew took a "family photo" to jointly report their safety to the people across the country who were concerned about them. Subsequently, the two astronaut crews will complete the "space shift".

During the "space business trip", besides her busy work, Li Jiaying also worked hard to complete a special task, "to take a good picture of Hong Kong."

Relying on the leap-forward development of the country's aerospace industry, Hong Kong compatriots who look up to the stars are now overlooking the earth from space. The blooming of "Bauhinia" in "Heavenly Palace" also vividly proves that Hong Kong compatriots are increasingly transforming from witnesses of the construction of aerospace power to in-depth participants and contributors. (over)