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Top 10 Astonishing Facts about Liu Yang

As a child, Liu Yang once wanted to be a bus conductor and later had her sights set on becoming a lawyer.

It was a visit by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to her school in central China that changed young Liu’s mind.

She then realised she wanted to become a pilot  a decision that eventually saw her take on the historic role.

Liu, China’s first female astronaut served as a crew member on the space mission Shenzhou 9 and became the first Chinese woman in space.

Her former high school in central China’s Henan province put up banners to celebrate her selection as the country’s first female “taikonaut”.

Liu joined the People鈥檚 Liberation Army (PLA) in 1997 and learned to fly at Changchun No. 1 Flight College.

She became a pilot of cargo planes. Liu attained the rank of major and became deputy head of her flight unit. She joined the astronaut corps in 2010.

For more astonishing facts about Liu yang.

1. Liu Yang is the First Chinese Female  “taikonaut,”

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She’s not an astronaut or cosmonaut – Liu Yang is a taikonaut. Chinese astronauts are called taikonauts while Soviet astronauts are called cosmonauts.

She became China’s first woman to venture into space as one of a three-member team aboard the Shenzhou-9. The other taikonauts accompanying her were Jing Haipeng and Liu Wang.

Liu joined the taikonaut corps in 2010. A spokeswoman for China’s space program remarked “Generally speaking, female astronauts have better durability, psychological stability and ability to deal with loneliness,” according to Xinhua,

The Chinese ranked her with Sally Ride, the first U.S. female astronaut and Russian Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space.

Her crew’s mission was also historic: the Shenzhou-9 docked with an experimental space module, the first time China has conducted a manual space docking.

It was a step forward on China’s deliberate path toward building its own space station by 2020 and plans for a trip to the moon.

2. Liu Yang was an Airforce Pilot

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At 18, shortly after graduating high school, Yang applied to join the People’s Liberation Army

She graduated from the People’s Liberation Army Air Force Aviation College of Changchun.

Liu joined the People’s Liberation Army Air Force in 1997 and qualified as a pilot before becoming the deputy head of a flight unit.

Before becoming a celebrated taikonaut in 2012 she had risen to the rank of Major in China’s air force.  By then she was a veteran pilot with 1,680 hours of flying under her belt.

Chinese media featured glowing reports about Liu’s prowess, noting she’s a Chinese air force major and a military pilot with a cool head.

According to China Daily, in 2003, birds struck the engine of a plane Liu was piloting. She lost the right engine but stabilized the aircraft and made a safe emergency landing.

3.   Liu Yang is a Quick Learner

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She has also impressed others as a quick learner. After becoming a prospective astronaut in 2010, she devoted the first year to basic academic and physical training.

She only started to train in aerospace and astronautics a year before the start of the Shenzhou-9 mission and she finished all scheduled training courses.

“Despite starting her training late, she is now on the same page as us, which exceeded our expectations,” said Jing Haipeng, commander of the Shenzhou-9 mission.

Liu has displayed impressive swiftness and decisiveness during training sessions on simulated emergencies.

4.  Liu Yang Moved Forward the Gender Agenda

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The decision to send a woman taikonaut into space is an important symbol of gender equality in a country that is, in many important respects, unequal.

The Soviets sought to achieve firsts, continually besting the Americans who were taking a slow and deliberate approach toward spaceflight.

Ideally, the China National Space Administration鈥檚 decision wasn鈥檛 designed just to chase 鈥淔IRST!!!鈥漵 and this can truly be seen as one small step for women, and one giant leap for humankind.

After two years of training, which shored up her astronautic skills and adaptability to the space environment.

“When I was a pilot, I flew in the sky. Now that I am an astronaut, I will fly in space. This will be a much higher and farther flight,” Liu said.

5.  Liu Yang Hails from Henan

She’s from Henan, a high-density, low-income province of China.

The native of central China’s Henan province started looking toward the skies just after high school when one of her teachers convinced her to enrol in an aviation school.

Joined the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force in 1997.

Henan, a province in Central China鈥檚 Yellow River Valley, is widely recognized as the place where Chinese civilization originated.

There are 4 ancient capitals within its borders. Luoyang, capital during multiple dynasties, is home to Baima Si (White Horse Temple). Founded in the 1st century, it’s among China鈥檚 first Buddhist temples.

6. Liu was in Charge of Medical experiments During the Space Mission

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The 33-year-old will be in charge of medical experiments during the mission, which will also feature China’s first attempt at a manual space docking procedure.

The 33-year-old will be in charge of medical experiments during the mission, which will also feature China’s first attempt at a manual space docking procedure.

“I am grateful to the motherland and the people. I feel honoured to fly into space on behalf of hundreds of millions of female Chinese citizens,” Liu said at a Friday press conference.

7.  Liu is a Member of the Chinese Communist Party

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Liu is a member of the Chinese Communist Party. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

To join the CCP, an applicant must go through an approval process. Admitted members then spend a year as probationary members.

To become a probationary member, the applicant must take an admission oath before the party flag.

The relevant CCP organization is responsible for observing and educating probationary members.

Probationary members have duties similar to those of full members, with the exception that they may not vote in party elections nor stand for election.

22.3 million women (25%) are CCP members. The CCP currently has 95.14 million members, making it the second-largest political party in the world after India’s Bharatiya Janata Party.

8. She Bore a Child after the  Space Mission

China’s first female astronaut begun training for her next mission after having a baby in 2015. 

The selection of China’s female astronauts had been somewhat controversial because of a reported preference for married women who have children, purportedly to guard against radiation damaging their reproductive health.

Those fears have so far proven unfounded, although no pregnant woman has flown in space as far as is known.

The official China Daily newspaper quoted Liu Yang as confirming at an award ceremony week that she had given birth but the report gave no more details about the child.

She was quoted as saying she was training for her next mission, an attempt to dock with a future space station for which no firm date has been set.

Liu, was a member of the three-person Shenzhou 9 mission that flew the first trip to China’s experimental space station Tiangong 1 in 2012.

9.  Liu Yang is Recognised by the Guinness World Records

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Liu Yang, a 33-year-old air force pilot, has become China’s first female taikonaut (astronaut).

Liu made the record books as part of a crew of three onboard the Shenzhou 9 spacecraft which launched on Saturday.

She now joined a notable list of record-breaking female space explorers.

The first woman to orbit the Earth was Junior Lt Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova who was launched in Vostok 6. As well as holding the record for being the first female in space, having not been in the military, Valentina is also considered to be the first civilian in space.

American teacher school teacher Barbara Morgan made history in 2007 when she became the oldest female astronaut at the age of 55.

The record for the longest spaceflight by a woman is American astronaut and the United States Navy officer Sunita Williams, who spent 195 days.

Anousheh Ansari from Iran became the first female space tourist on 18 September 2006 when the Soyuz TMA-9 capsule blasted off for a 10-day visit to the International Space Station.

Businesswoman Ansari has had a lifelong fascination with space and is thought to have paid $20 million (拢10.5 million) for the experience.

10.  Liu Yang beat 21 other female Pilots

Anousheh Ansari, Liu Yang, Samantha Cristoforetti and Houlin Zhao at the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day, Image by ITU Pictures from

She was selected out of 21 female pilots with similar service records.

Government officials began the selection process in 2009. In March 2010, they narrowed down the search to two women.

Two years later, they announced their choice. (Her competitor, Wang Yaping.)

“I have full confidence,” Liu said before the mission. “There are many foreign female astronauts who have been into space.

Men and women have their own advantages and capabilities in carrying out space missions. They can complement each other and better complete their mission.”

Liu has been described by her colleagues as being outgoing, eloquent and well-versed.

Since joining the military, she has received accolades for her public speaking, winning first place in a military speech contest in 2010.

However, the difficulty and intensity of her training have not deprived her of life’s pleasures. Liu loves reading, particularly novels, essays and history books. She is also a proficient cook.

The news agency Xinhua reported a former spaceflight official as claiming that marriage was a requirement for all female Chinese astronauts as “married women would be more physically and psychologically mature.”

However, this requirement was officially denied by the director of the China Astronaut Centre, stating that this is a preference but not a strict limitation.