Three new astronauts have reached China's Tiangong space station, footage published by state media shows.
The Shenzhou 23 spacecraft had blasted off from the Jiuquan Space Centre in northwest China on Sunday night, local time.
On board were the three astronauts - known in China as taikonauts - Zhu Yangzhu, Zhang Zhiyuan and Li Jiaying.
According to the Chinese space agency CMSA, Li is the first person from Hong Kong to take part in a Chinese space mission.
The crew is set to replace the current three-person crew at the space station and, for the first time, one of the astronauts is set to remain in space for about a year.
During the mission, a decision will be made about which member will be selected.
China aims to use the extended stay to investigate how long-term stays in space affect the human body, state media said.
According to authorities, the crew now being replaced has already spent 203 days in space and is therefore likely to set a record for the longest single mission duration by a Chinese astronaut crew.
China's astronauts have carried out multiple missions to the Tiangong space station, developed after the nation was effectively excluded from the International Space Station on US concerns over national security.
The US is seen as China's top space rival, with NASA aiming to land astronauts on the lunar surface in 2028. China is preparing for its first crewed lunar landing by 2030.
Tiangong, which translates to "Heavenly Palace", first hosted China's crew in 2021.
In 2025, an emergency mission in the Shenzhou program, which means "Divine Vessel", returned a team of astronauts stranded on the space station due to a damaged spacecraft.
With AP
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