Lieutenant Colonel Yang Liwei, a 1.68-metre (5′ 6″) fighter pilot, was born in 1965 in Liaoning province, in China’s industrial north-east.
According to official media, he was selected from 14 final candidates, beating two other finalists, Zhai Zhigang and Nie Haisheng, partly because he showed a “calm mental state” during psychological tests.
He has an impeccable class background, being the son of a teacher and an official from an agricultural firm.
According to his older sister, he was an active child who was a keen swimmer and ice-skater. His school record was average, although he did well in sciences.
He joined the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) when he was 18, and graduated from the No 8 Aviation College.
He has 1,350 flying hours under his belt, and is described as “miraculously dedicated” by his colleagues.
He has been in the astronaut training programme since 1998, and earns a monthly salary of 10,000 yuan ($1,200).
Yang Liwei is married to a PLA officer, and they have an eight-year-old son.