Shenzhou-11 manned spacecraft carrying astronauts Jing Haipeng and Chen Dong blasts off from the launchpad in Jiuquan, China, October 17, 2016. REUTERS/Stringer/Files

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Shenzhou 11 space capsule landed safely in the northern region of Inner Mongolia on Friday with two astronauts aboard, state media said, completing the country's longest manned space mission to date.

China Central Television showed images of the craft - whose name translates as "Divine Vessel" - on the ground flanked by Chinese flags and support teams. State news agency Xinhua said the capsule had touched down "successfully" just after 2 p.m.

The two astronauts, Jing Haipeng and Chen Dong, spent 30 days aboard the Tiangong 2 space laboratory, or "Heavenly Palace 2", which China is using to carry out experiments ahead of a longer-range plan to have a permanent manned space station around 2022.

They did not immediately emerge from the capsule as CCTV said they were undergoing medical examination, but mission commander Zhang Youxia, who is also a senior military official, said in a televised speech that they were in "good condition".

"The Tiangong 2 and Shenzhou 11 flight duties were a complete success," Zhang said.

Tiangong 2 will remain in its orbit and next docks with Tianzhou 1, China's first cargo spacecraft, which is set to be launched in April next year, according to state media.

In a manned space mission in 2013, three Chinese astronauts spent 15 days in orbit and docked with a space laboratory, the Tiangong 1.

Advancing China's space programme is a priority for Beijing, with President Xi Jinping calling for the country to establish itself as a space power.

The U.S. Defense Department has highlighted China's increasing space capabilities, saying it was pursuing activities aimed at preventing other nations using space-based assets in a crisis.

China has been working to develop its space programme for military, commercial and scientific purposes, but is still playing catch-up to established space powers the United States and Russia. It insists the programme is for peaceful purposes.

China's Jade Rabbit moon rover landed on the moon in late 2013 to great national fanfare, but soon suffered severe technical difficulties.

The rover and the Chang'e 3 probe that carried it there were the first "soft landing" on the moon since 1976. Both the United States and the Soviet Union had accomplished the feat earlier.

China will launch a "core module" for its first space station some time around 2018, a senior official said in April, part of a plan for a permanent manned space station in service around 2022.

(Reporting by Michael Martina and Ben Blanchard; Editing by Nick Macfie)</s>BEIJING -- China's Shenzhou-11 spacecraft returned to earth Friday, bringing home two astronauts from the rising power's longest-ever orbital mission, in a milestone for its vaulting ambitions.

China's state broadcaster CCTV showed the return capsule's separation from the Tiangong-2 space lab 393 kilometers above the earth, and its descent through the atmosphere to its landing on the grassland of Inner Mongolia in the country's north.

After it landed, ground personnel rushed to plant two flapping red flags beside the capsule while observers applauded in China's mission control.

CCTV later showed footage of Jing Haipeng and Chen Dong being carried out of the capsule and waving as staff wrapped them in blue blankets. The manned space program's commander in chief Zhang Youxia announced that the mission was a "complete success."

The men spent the 33-day mission orbiting the earth carrying out experiments including cultivating silkworms, growing lettuce, and testing brain activity.

The Tiangong-2 space lab, launched in September, is also running experiments on growing rice and thale cress.

Beijing is pouring billions into its space program in a bid to catch up with the U.S. and Europe.

It announced in April that it aims to send a spacecraft "around 2020" to orbit Mars, then land and deploy a rover to explore the Red Planet's surface.

In their last entry in a space diary published by the official Xinhua news agency, the astronauts wrote that they kept fit in space by doing somersaults and zero-gravity tai chi. "At the end of a busy day, we have some free time before going to bed," they wrote. "We take selfies to have some personal record of this unforgettable journey, or just go to the window and quietly stare at that beautiful blue planet called Earth."

Beijing sees the military-run program as a symbol of China's progress and a marker of its rising global stature.

The nation's first lunar rover was launched in late 2013, and while it was beset by mechanical troubles it far outlived its expected lifespan, finally shutting down only last month.

But so far China has largely replicated activities that the U.S. and Soviet Union pioneered decades ago.

It intends to set up its own manned space station by 2022, and eventually put one of its citizens on the surface of the moon.

In an interview earlier this week, Jing told Xinhua that "even in the wilderness of space" the astronauts could "always feel the love from our motherland".</s>BEIJING — A pair of Chinese astronauts returned Friday from a monthlong stay aboard the country's space station, China's sixth and longest crewed mission and a sign of the growing ambitions of its rapidly advancing space program.

Veteran mission commander Jing Haipeng and first-time space traveler Chen Dong were reported in good health after their Shenzhou 11 return vehicle landed on the frozen steppes of Inner Mongolia.

They spent 30 days aboard the Tiangong 2 station conducting experiments and testing equipment in preparation for the launching of the station's core module in 2018. A fully functioning, permanently crewed space station is on course to begin operations six years from now and is slated to run for at least a decade.

The success of the mission "indicates that our manned space program has achieved major new progress and is the latest achievement in building a country of innovation and a world power of science and technology," the ruling Communist Party's Central Committee, the Cabinet and the party commission controlling the military said in a congratulatory message.

"It is the newest achievement of Chinese people in climbing the peak of the world," said the letter, read out by Vice Premier Zhao Gaoli at the space flight control center in Beijing.

Since first launching a human into space 13 years ago, China has launched two space stations, staged a spacewalk, landed a rover on the moon and is now considering sending a crewed lunar mission.

The Tiangong, or "Heavenly Palace," space stations are considered stepping stones to a mission to send a rover to Mars by the end of the decade. Communications with the disused experimental Tiangong 1 station have been cut and it is expected to burn up on entering the atmosphere next year.

China was excluded from the International Space Station mainly due to U.S. legislation barring such cooperation and concerns over the Chinese space program's strongly military character.

Chinese officials are now looking to internationalize their own program by offering to help finance other countries' missions to Tiangong 2, which, at 60 tons when completed, would still be considerably smaller than the 420-ton ISS. The space station was launched on Sept. 15 and is orbiting 393 kilometers (244 miles) above Earth.

In a recent editorial, state newspaper China Daily congratulated the country on having "never given up on its resolve to catch up with the world's leaders in science and technology, as its leadership understands the importance of science and technology for a nation's development."

"That explains why China has achieved such a lot in the development of its space technology in the past two decades and is striving to make new breakthroughs," the paper said.</s>Jing Haipeng and Chen Dong have lived and worked in the Tiangong-2 space lab since October 18, the longest stay in space by Chinese astronauts.

The reentry module of the Shenzhou-11 spacecraft landed in Inner Mongolia around 2.15 p.m. Friday local time (01.15 a.m ET), after detaching from the space lab and heading for home Thursday.

The Tiangong-2, whose name translates as "heavenly vessel," was launched on September 15 and had unmanned until the astronauts arrived the following month.</s>China today launched a 712-km quantum communication line, stated to be the world’s longest secure telecommunications network, which boasts of ultra-high security making it impossible to wiretap, intercept or crack the information transmitted through them.

The new quantum communication line links Hefei, capital of Anhui province, to Shanghai, the country’s financial hub.

It is part of a 2,000-km quantum communication line connecting Beijing and Shanghai, according to Chen Yu’ao, professor at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) in Hefei and chief engineer of the Beijing-Shanghai quantum communication line.

The 712-km line has 11 stations and it took three years of construction, Mr. Chen said.

It is impossible to wiretap, intercept or crack the information transmitted through them.

Experts from 18 countries witnessed a secure remote video meeting between Hefei and Shanghai via the quantum line at a recent international conference on quantum technology.

The Beijing-Shanghai quantum communication line is expected to be completed at the end of this year.

In August, China successfully launched the world’s first quantum satellite. It was nicknamed “Micius” after a fifth century BC Chinese philosopher and scientist.

The Beijing-Shanghai quantum communication line will be connected to the satellite through the line’s station in Beijing, enabling the space-to-Earth quantum communication network.
China's Shenzhou 11 returns to Earth after completing China's longest manned space mission to date.