Chinese celebrate the return of second manned space flight

BEIJING -- The Chinese celebrated the successful landing yesterday of a second manned space flight, a feat that the country's second-ranking leader, Li Guoqiang, declared a victory for the Communist Party and a boost to the country's status as a space power.

The predawn landing of the Shenzhou 6 capsule on the country's northern grasslands was shown live on television, as part of an effort meant to rouse support for the governing party.

Scenes of the astronauts, Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng, emerging smiling and waving were shown through the day on television. They sparked an outpouring of excitement about China's technological strides.

''It's really incredible, and we're all filled with pride," said Li Guoqiang, a Shanghai electrician. ''It's about developing and expressing our national strength."

Fei and Nie were flown to Beijing, where they received a hero's welcome. They rode in an open car, in a parade past thousands of soldiers at a military base.

State television showed residents of Fei's hometown of Kunshan, west of Shanghai, setting off firecrackers and weeping with joy.

''This will further improve the country's international status and national strength, and will help to mobilize its people to rally around the Communist Party and work harder for the future of the country," said Wu Bangguo, the party's number two leader, who watched the landing at a Beijing control center.

The capsule touched down by parachute at 4:32 a.m. local time (4:32 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time), a half-mile from its target in Inner Mongolia, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

Television showed the astronauts, known as yuhangyuan, or ''travelers of the universe," climbing out of their capsule and clambering down a ladder in darkness.

They accepted bouquets of flowers and sat in metal chairs beside the spacecraft.

''I want to thank the people for their love and care. Thank you very much," Fei said.

Hours later, an official announced China's next ambition: a possible spacewalk in 2007.

Fei and Nie blasted off last Wednesday from a base in China's desert northwest, almost exactly two years after the first Chinese manned space flight made this only the third country to send a human into orbit on its own.