Top Chinese leaders attended a gathering Saturday morning to celebrate the country's successful manned space flight in mid-October.

The leaders met with two astronauts who orbited the earth aboard Shenzhou-VI, as well as professionals and officials involved in the space mission at the Great Hall of the People.

Shenzhou VI lifted off on a Long March 2F carrier rocket from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on Oct. 12 for a five-day mission carrying astronauts Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng.

President awards medals, certificates to taikonauts

Chinese President Hu Jintao awarded metals and achievement certificates to taikonauts Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng at a meeting in Beijing on Saturday.

More than 3,000 people gathered at the Great Hall of the People on Saturday to mark the success of the Shenzhou VI mission.

The title of "Hero Taikonaut" and the medals of "Space Flight Achievement" were designed to honor the two taikongauts' great achievement during the Shenzhou VI spaceflight, China's first ever multi-person and multi-day manned space mission.

Aerospace workers have cultivated a spirit of "being especially capable of bearing hardships, fighting, tackling key problems and making contributions" since China's manned space flight program was initiated 13 years ago, Hu said.

Hu also praised the workers for their love of the motherland, sense of team work and quality of not seeking fame and wealth.

The spirit should be carried forward when we are endeavoring to build a well-off society and pressing ahead with socialist modernization, the president said.

China's manned spaceflight engineering have reached the advanced level of the world, said Hu.

Hu said China has already formed a set of scientific management theories and practices that confirm with the actual conditions and China's manned spaceflight undertakings.

Addressing a grand gathering in Beijing celebrating China's successful manned space flight in mid-October, Hu called the mission of Shenzhou-VI a "song of triumph" in the course of the Chinese nation's revitalization.

It was another big contribution made by the Chinese people to the humankind's peaceful use of outer space, Hu claimed. He said all the Chinese feel "great pride and honor" at the event.

In the name of the Chinese Communist Party (CPC) Central Committee, State Council and Central Military Commission, Hu expressed high consideration for people throughout the country, including Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan compatriots, as well as overseas Chinese, for their strong support and care for China's space development cause.

(Xinhua News Agency November 26, 2005)