Successful re-entry of the Shenzhou-6 spacecraft Monday morning further boosted Chinese people's pride in the country's scientific innovation and space science..

The re-entry capsule of China's Shenzhou-6 spacecraft, carrying taikonauts Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng, landed safely on Earth at 4:33 a.m. on October 17, marking the success of China's second manned space mission.

They landed in the grasslands of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The Shenzhou-6 spaceflight ran for 115 hours and 32 minutes, more than five times that of the Shenzhou-5 mission two years ago, which put the first Chinese taikonaut in space.

More than 2,000 residents of Longquan Community in east China's Metropolis Shanghai gathered in the early morning Monday, "We are so happy that they landed safely," residents shouted.

Students majoring in aircraft designing in Shanghai-based Fudan University paid close attention to Shenzhou-6's headway, focusing on the new breakthrough China achieved in scientific experiments in the outer space. Teachers also added the knowledge such as rocket's construction and movement to their teaching.

Zhao Jiujiu, abbot of the Dazhao Temple in central China's Hubei Province was exited at the mention of the re-entry.

"We (the monks in the temple) are keeping close watches to major events in China, though we have entered into religion. China made a noticeable progress in spaceflight since the first artificial satellite blasted off 35 years ago," he said.

Bai Lan, a researcher with Inner Mongolia Academy of Social Sciences, said she deeply admires the scientific and technological personnel working for the spacecraft.

"They yielded a huge output with minimized input," she said.

More than 2,000 people assembled at the Tian'anmen Square in Beijing to watch the routine national flag-raising in the Monday morning.

Qin Xiaohui, on the tour in Beijing with her husband, said she was very proud to attend the ceremony on this special occasion. "May China achieve better results in manned spaceflight and other scientific fields," she said.

Source: Xinhua