China successfully sent its first astronaut into space, thus becoming the first developing nation in the world to be able to engage in manned space flight independently.

The Shenzhou 5 spacecraft blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center aboard a Long March-2F carrier rocket on October 15. After orbiting the Earth 14 times, Shenzhou 5 landed in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region at 6:23 a.m. on October 16. China's first astronaut in space, Lieutenant Colonel Yang Liwei, safely stepped out of the re-entry module

(Beijing Review: China's Top Ten News Eventsin 2003, No.52, 2003)