AfewdaysagohewasjustColonel(上校)Yang;fewpeopleknewhisnameorrecognizedhisface．ButlastThursdaywhenhecamebacktotheearthaftera21-hourtriptospaceYangLiwei’ssmilewasseenacrosstheworldabovethemagicwords：“China’sfirstspaceman”．

The38-year-oldastronautwassentintospaceat9a.m．lastWednesdaybyChina’sShenzhouVspacecraftwhichorbitedtheearth14times．Helandedsafelyat6∶23a.m．thenextdaymakingChinathethirdcountrytosuccessfullysendapersonintospaceaftertheformerSovietUnionandtheUS．

Yangwassatisfiedwithhisjob．“IhaveseenmanylandingscenesbeforeonvideoandIthinkourswasoneofthemostsuccessful”hesaidonaspecialplanetoBeijingafterlanding．

BornintoanordinaryfamilyinLiaoningProvincehebecameapilotintheChineseAirForcein1987spending1350hoursintheair．HejoinedtheChinesespaceprogramme11yearslater．

WhileinspaceYangrecordedeverythinghesawaswellasshowingChina’snationalflagandtheUnitedNation’sflagtothepeoplewatchingonTVathome．Healsoateamealofdicedchickenandfriedricebeforetakinga3-hournap．Thewholeprojectwentaccordingtoplanbutspaceexplorationisnotaseasyasitseems．AnyonewhosawthedestructionoftheUSspaceshuttleColumbiainFebruarythisyearwillknowthatYangtookagreatrisk．

Heexperiencedextremelyhightemperatureswhilethegravitationalforces(重力)ontakeoffandlandingwerestrongenoughtoforcetearsfromhiseyes．Hehasspentfiveyearstrainingtobecomeaspaceman．“Ieatallofmymealsatthespaceprogramme’sdiningroomandhaveneverbeenabletotakemysontokindergarten”hesaid．“I’venevermethisteachers.”ButbecomingChina’sfirstspacemanhasmadealltheeffortworthwhile．

“WhenIboardedthespacecraftforthefirsttimeIcouldn’thelpfeelingexcited”hesaid．“IdecidedthatIhadtoflyit．”

ToChinesepeopleYangisnowahero．OnevisitortoaXinhuaNewsAgencyOnlineForum(新华社网上论坛)said：“Yang’stripisagiantleapforwardforChina.”Of