Shenzhou 5 in orbit. Computer illustration of the Shenzhou 5 spacecraft in orbit over the Earth. This was the first human spaceflight mission flown by the People's Republic of China (PRC). Taikonaut Yang Liwei (born 1965) launched on 15th October 2003, made 14 orbits, and landed after 21 hours. China is the third country to have achieved independent human spaceflight, the other two being the Soviet Union and the United States in 1961.