Astronauts of China’s Shenzhou-23 mission meet the press
Wire desk byline Sourced from Xinhua, Dawn, Arab News, Anadolu and Minute Mirror. Translated and abridged by the GSRRA Desk.
Chinese astronauts Zhu Yangzhu (C), Zhang Zhiyuan (R) and Li Jiaying, or Lai Ka-ying in Cantonese, for the upcoming Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceflight mission, meet the press at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, May 23, 2026. (Xinhua/Cai Yang)
JIUQUAN, May 23 (Xinhua) — Chinese astronauts Zhu Yangzhu, Zhang Zhiyuan and Li Jiaying, or Lai Ka-ying in Cantonese, for the upcoming Shenzhou-23 spaceflight mission, met the press on Saturday.
The Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceship is scheduled to be launched at 11:08 p.m. Sunday (Beijing Time) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, the China Manned Space Agency announced at a press conference earlier on Saturday. ■
Chinese astronauts Zhu Yangzhu (C), Zhang Zhiyuan (R) and Li Jiaying, or Lai Ka-ying in Cantonese, for the upcoming Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceflight mission, meet the press at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, May 23, 2026. (Xinhua/Cai Yang)
Chinese astronauts Zhu Yangzhu (C) and Zhang Zhiyuan (R), along with Li Jiaying, also known as Lai Ka-ying in Cantonese, meet the press at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on May 23, 2026, ahead of the upcoming Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceflight mission. (Xinhua/Cai Yang)
Chinese astronauts Zhu Yangzhu (C), Zhang Zhiyuan (R) and Li Jiaying, or Lai Ka-ying in Cantonese, for the upcoming Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceflight mission, meet the press at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, May 23, 2026. (Xinhua/Li Zhipeng)
Chinese astronauts Zhu Yangzhu (C), Zhang Zhiyuan (R) and Li Jiaying, or Lai Ka-ying in Cantonese, for the upcoming Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceflight mission, meet the press at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, May 23, 2026. (Xinhua/Li Zhipeng)
Chinese astronauts Zhu Yangzhu (C) and Zhang Zhiyuan (R), along with Li Jiaying, also known as Lai Ka-ying in Cantonese, meet the press at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on May 23, 2026, ahead of the upcoming Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceflight mission. (Xinhua/Li Zhipeng)
Astronaut for the upcoming Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceflight mission Li Jiaying, or Lai Ka-ying in Cantonese, meets the press at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on May 23, 2026. Chinese astronauts Zhu Yangzhu, Zhang Zhiyuan and Li Jiaying, or Lai Ka-ying in Cantonese, for the upcoming Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceflight mission, met the press on Saturday. (Xinhua/Cai Yang)
Astronaut for the upcoming Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceflight mission Zhu Yangzhu meets the press at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on May 23, 2026. Chinese astronauts Zhu Yangzhu, Zhang Zhiyuan and Li Jiaying, or Lai Ka-ying in Cantonese, for the upcoming Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceflight mission, met the press on Saturday. (Xinhua/Cai Yang)
Astronaut for the upcoming Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceflight mission Zhang Zhiyuan meets the press at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on May 23, 2026. Chinese astronauts Zhu Yangzhu, Zhang Zhiyuan, and Li Jiaying, also known as Lai Ka-ying in Cantonese, met the press on Saturday to discuss the upcoming Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceflight mission. (Xinhua/Li Zhipeng)
Chinese astronauts Zhu Yangzhu (C), Zhang Zhiyuan (R) and Li Jiaying, or Lai Ka-ying in Cantonese, for the upcoming Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceflight mission, meet the press at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, May 23, 2026. (Xinhua/Lian Zhen)
Chinese astronauts Zhu Yangzhu (C) and Zhang Zhiyuan (R), along with Li Jiaying, also known as Lai Ka-ying in Cantonese, meet the press at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on May 23, 2026, ahead of the upcoming Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceflight mission. (Xinhua/Lian Zhen)
Chinese astronauts Zhu Yangzhu (C), Zhang Zhiyuan (R) and Li Jiaying, or Lai Ka-ying in Cantonese, for the upcoming Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceflight mission, meet the press at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, May 23, 2026. (Xinhua/Lian Zhen)
Chinese astronauts Zhu Yangzhu (C) and Zhang Zhiyuan (R), along with Li Jiaying, also known as Lai Ka-ying in Cantonese, meet the press at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on May 23, 2026, ahead of the upcoming Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceflight mission. (Xinhua/Lian Zhen)
Reference Link:- https://english.news.cn/20260523/5987cc7815a9430c9d9ecf46b96eb9b4/c.html
Zamir Ahmed Awan is the founder and Chair of the Global Silk Route Research Alliance, a think tank in Islamabad. He studied engineering at Shanghai University in the 1980s, and years later he went back to China as Pakistan's science counsellor in Beijing, from 2010 until 2016, working on science and higher education cooperation between the two countries.…
