Three Chinese taikonauts, who jointly carried out the country's maiden space walk, are scheduled to pay a six-day visit to Hong Kong and Macao.

Zhai Zhigang, Liu Boming and Jing Haipeng are expected to tour the two special administrative regions on Dec. 5, said the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council on Friday.

Their itinerary was not made public but the taikonauts were expected to meet with local citizens and students.

The Shenzhou VII mission successfully put Zhai Zhigang into outer space for 20-minutes this Sept. stirring widespread patriotism.

(Xinhua News Agency November 28, 2008)