{"id":16583,"date":"2026-05-25T13:50:25","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T13:50:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/?p=16583"},"modified":"2026-05-25T13:50:25","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T13:50:25","slug":"first-hong-kong-astronaut-launches-into-space-onboard-chinese-mission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/?p=16583","title":{"rendered":"First Hong Kong astronaut launches into space onboard Chinese mission"},"content":{"rendered":"

China has launched its first astronaut from Hong Kong into space aboard the Shenzhou-23 mission, marking a historic milestone in the country\u2019s rapidly expanding space programme.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
The spacecraft blasted off late Sunday from the Gobi Desert aboard a Long March 2-F rocket, carrying a three-member crew to China\u2019s Tiangong Space Station<\/span><\/span>.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Among the astronauts is Li Jiaying<\/span><\/span>, a 43-year-old police officer and mother of three, who is serving as the mission\u2019s payload scientist. She became the first person from Hong Kong to travel into space.<\/p>\n

The Shenzhou-23 spacecraft successfully docked with the Tiangong space station several hours after launch.<\/p>\n

Li was joined on the mission by Zhu Yangzhu<\/span><\/span> and Zhang Zhiyuan<\/span><\/span>, both aged 39.<\/p>\n

Chinese authorities confirmed that at least one astronaut from the crew will remain in orbit for a full year as part of a major long-duration space experiment. Officials said the astronaut selected for the extended mission would be announced later.<\/p>\n

The Shenzhou-23 mission will focus on studying the effects of microgravity on the human body, alongside a range of scientific experiments designed to support China\u2019s long-term ambitions in deep space exploration.<\/p>\n

Crowds waving Chinese flags gathered to witness the launch, which took place at 11:08pm local time on Sunday.<\/p>\n

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee<\/span><\/span> described Li\u2019s participation as a \u201chistoric\u201d achievement for Hong Kong.<\/p>\n

Li said she was inspired by Yang Liwei<\/span><\/span>, the first astronaut sent into space by China.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a rare chance. Why not try?\u201d Li said before the launch, according to Chinese state media.<\/p>\n

As she headed to the launch site, Li told state broadcaster CCTV: \u201cHow high our Chinese spacecraft flies, that\u2019s how high we can hold our heads high.\u201d<\/p>\n

Analysts say stories of successful Hong Kong figures like Li could help Beijing strengthen patriotic sentiment among younger generations in the city.<\/p>\n

China has steadily expanded its space programme in recent years, sending crews to the Tiangong station since 2021 on regular six-month missions.<\/p>\n

The planned year-long stay aboard the station would rank among the longest human space missions ever conducted, approaching the 14-month record set by Russian cosmonaut Valery Polyakov<\/span><\/span> in 1995.<\/p>\n

Experts say the mission demonstrates China\u2019s growing expertise in long-duration spaceflight and preparations for future lunar exploration.<\/p>\n

Last year, China\u2019s Chang’e-6<\/span><\/span> mission became the first spacecraft to return rock samples from the far side of the Moon.<\/p>\n

Later this year, China is also expected to test its new Mengzhou<\/span><\/span> spacecraft, which is being developed to transport astronauts to the Moon as Beijing pushes toward its goal of landing humans on the lunar surface by 2030.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

China has launched its first astronaut from Hong Kong into space aboard the Shenzhou-23 mission, marking a historic milestone in the country\u2019s rapidly expanding space programme. The spacecraft blasted off late Sunday from the Gobi Desert aboard a Long March 2-F rocket, carrying a three-member crew to China\u2019s Tiangong Space Station. Among the astronauts is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16586,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-asia"],"yoast_head":"\nFirst Hong Kong astronaut launches into space onboard Chinese mission - The daily Tourist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/?p=16583\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"First Hong Kong astronaut launches into space onboard Chinese mission - The daily Tourist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"China has launched its first astronaut from Hong Kong into space aboard the Shenzhou-23 mission, marking a historic milestone in the country\u2019s rapidly expanding space programme. The spacecraft blasted off late Sunday from the Gobi Desert aboard a Long March 2-F rocket, carrying a three-member crew to China\u2019s Tiangong Space Station. Among the astronauts is […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/?p=16583\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The daily Tourist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-25T13:50:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/3cf76600-5815-11f1-be4f-892ca05ec266.jpg.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"450\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/?p=16583#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/?p=16583\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/#\/schema\/person\/06147b67c09de07f7316890449fa04b7\"},\"headline\":\"First Hong Kong astronaut launches into space onboard Chinese mission\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-25T13:50:25+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/?p=16583\"},\"wordCount\":443,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/?p=16583#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/3cf76600-5815-11f1-be4f-892ca05ec266.jpg.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Asia\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/?p=16583#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/?p=16583\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/?p=16583\",\"name\":\"First Hong Kong astronaut launches into space onboard Chinese mission - The daily Tourist\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/?p=16583#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/?p=16583#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/3cf76600-5815-11f1-be4f-892ca05ec266.jpg.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-25T13:50:25+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/?p=16583#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/?p=16583\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/?p=16583#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/3cf76600-5815-11f1-be4f-892ca05ec266.jpg.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/3cf76600-5815-11f1-be4f-892ca05ec266.jpg.webp\",\"width\":800,\"height\":450},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/?p=16583#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"First Hong Kong astronaut launches into space onboard Chinese mission\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/\",\"name\":\"The daily Tourist\",\"description\":\"The Daily Tourist News Portal\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"The daily Tourist\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/daily-tourist-final-logo-scaled.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/daily-tourist-final-logo-scaled.png\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":585,\"caption\":\"The daily Tourist\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/#\/schema\/person\/06147b67c09de07f7316890449fa04b7\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1c9f4ded3df4c7a140d40a48ee660f03b43e863c5623013ac6abc717bcec0572?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1c9f4ded3df4c7a140d40a48ee660f03b43e863c5623013ac6abc717bcec0572?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1c9f4ded3df4c7a140d40a48ee660f03b43e863c5623013ac6abc717bcec0572?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"First Hong Kong astronaut launches into space onboard Chinese mission - The daily Tourist","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/?p=16583","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"First Hong Kong astronaut launches into space onboard Chinese mission - The daily Tourist","og_description":"China has launched its first astronaut from Hong Kong into space aboard the Shenzhou-23 mission, marking a historic milestone in the country\u2019s rapidly expanding space programme. The spacecraft blasted off late Sunday from the Gobi Desert aboard a Long March 2-F rocket, carrying a three-member crew to China\u2019s Tiangong Space Station. Among the astronauts is […]","og_url":"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/?p=16583","og_site_name":"The daily Tourist","article_published_time":"2026-05-25T13:50:25+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":450,"url":"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/3cf76600-5815-11f1-be4f-892ca05ec266.jpg.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/?p=16583#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/?p=16583"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/#\/schema\/person\/06147b67c09de07f7316890449fa04b7"},"headline":"First Hong Kong astronaut launches into space onboard Chinese mission","datePublished":"2026-05-25T13:50:25+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/?p=16583"},"wordCount":443,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/?p=16583#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/3cf76600-5815-11f1-be4f-892ca05ec266.jpg.webp","articleSection":["Asia"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/?p=16583#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/?p=16583","url":"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/?p=16583","name":"First Hong Kong astronaut launches into space onboard Chinese mission - The daily Tourist","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/?p=16583#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/?p=16583#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/3cf76600-5815-11f1-be4f-892ca05ec266.jpg.webp","datePublished":"2026-05-25T13:50:25+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/?p=16583#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/?p=16583"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/?p=16583#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/3cf76600-5815-11f1-be4f-892ca05ec266.jpg.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/3cf76600-5815-11f1-be4f-892ca05ec266.jpg.webp","width":800,"height":450},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/?p=16583#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"First Hong Kong astronaut launches into space onboard Chinese mission"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/#website","url":"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/","name":"The daily Tourist","description":"The Daily Tourist News Portal","publisher":{"@id":"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/#organization","name":"The daily Tourist","url":"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/daily-tourist-final-logo-scaled.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/daily-tourist-final-logo-scaled.png","width":2560,"height":585,"caption":"The daily Tourist"},"image":{"@id":"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/#\/schema\/person\/06147b67c09de07f7316890449fa04b7","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1c9f4ded3df4c7a140d40a48ee660f03b43e863c5623013ac6abc717bcec0572?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1c9f4ded3df4c7a140d40a48ee660f03b43e863c5623013ac6abc717bcec0572?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1c9f4ded3df4c7a140d40a48ee660f03b43e863c5623013ac6abc717bcec0572?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/the-dailytourist.com"],"url":"https:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16583","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16583"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16583\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16587,"href":"https:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16583\/revisions\/16587"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/16586"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/the-dailytourist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}