China's first astronaut Yang Liwei said in an interview on the
China Central Television Thursday evening that "I did not see the
Great Wall from space."
However, he said the Earth looked "very beautiful."
There was a popular saying in China that the Great Wall was the
only manmade architecture that could be sighted by naked eyes in
space.
Many Chinese Internet surfers had left messages on the BBS
(billboard bulletin system) asking Yang to verify this allegation,
and the TV anchor person transferred their question to Yang during
the interview.
Earlier, some American astronauts who had entered space had
denied this allegation when they visited China and gave lectures to
the public.
(Xinhua News Agency October 17, 2003)