Yang Liwei

Chinese military officer and taikonaut

Born: June 21, 1965

Yang Liwei — Image via Wikimedia Commons or Wikipedia.

Overview

Known for

Chinese military officer and taikonaut (born 1965)

Significance

Yang Liwei is a Chinese major general, former military pilot, and former taikonaut of the People's Liberation Army.

Who is Yang Liwei?

Yang Liwei (simplified Chinese: 杨利伟; traditional Chinese: 楊利偉; born 21 June 1965) is a Chinese major general, former military pilot, and former taikonaut of the People's Liberation Army. This mission, Shenzhou 5, made China the third country to independently send humans into space. He is currently a vice chief designer of China Manned Space Engineering.

Liwei displays China and UN flags in flight

Historical significance

In October 2003, Yang became the first person sent into space by the Chinese space program.

Related on thisDay

How did Yang Liwei complete China's first solo orbital flight?

Shenzhou 5 launched astronaut Yang Liwei into orbit, making China the third nation to independently send a person to space.

Sources and further reading

Use the dated article for the day-specific account; use these references to check the event record and explore its wider historical context.

Date article: How did Yang Liwei complete China's first solo orbital flight?Wikipedia source

Cite this page

MLA

“Yang Liwei.” thisDay, thisday.info/people/yang-liwei/. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

APA

Yang Liwei. (n.d.). thisDay. Retrieved October 15, 2026, from https://thisday.info/people/yang-liwei/

Chicago

“Yang Liwei.” thisDay. Accessed October 15, 2026. https://thisday.info/people/yang-liwei/.

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