China's first astronaut Yang Liwei will have his own statue along with a replica Shenzhou V spacecraft in his hometown.

The government of Huludao City, northeast China's Liaoning Province, has announced plans to solicit statue designs from all over the country to be built in the city's Longwan New District.

"Yang" would wear his astronaut suit, said Liu Ming, mayor of Huludao.

Yang, 38, became a hero in China when he returned to Earth in a home-made space capsule after his 21-hour space flight, which began on Oct. 15.

He was born into a family of teachers in June 1965 in Suizhong County of the city and joined the Chinese People's Liberation Army(PLA) at 18.

In 1987, Yang graduated from the No. 8 Aviation College of the PLA Air Force with a bachelor's degree and became a fighter pilot. He has had 1,350 hours of flight experience.

In January 1998, he became a member of China's first team of astronauts. He was selected as one of the finalists to be the country's first astronaut for his excellent performance in the five-year training.

"We hope that the statues will encourage the people of the hero's hometown to work harder and make more achievements on the city's development and it will make more people aware that Huludao City is not only the birthplace of a hero, but also a good place for investment," said Liu.

Yang was also honored as "Meritorious Citizen" on Tuesday and his parents received a new villa from the city government.

"Yang just did what he should do and I feel very proud of him," said Wei Guilan, his mother.

(Xinhua News Agency October 23, 2003)