Shenzhou-19 crew sets new record for longest extravehicular mission by Chinese astronauts

Shenzhou-19 crew members aboard China's orbiting space station successfully completed a marathon nine-hour spacewalk at 21:57 Beijing Time on Tuesday, setting a new duration record for Chinese astronauts' extravehicular activities (EVAs).

Astronauts Cai Xuzhe, Song Lingdong were assigned the EVA duty, while Wang Haoze assisted the pair throughout the mission from inside the space station. It was the 17th spacewalk carried out by Chinese astronauts.

At the end of the mission, before closing the hatch, the Shenzhou-19 crew expressed their joy at completing the mission and their gratitude to the ground team.

"Congratulations to 02 for completing your first spacewalk and moreover, for becoming the first Chinese astronaut born after 1990 to carry out EVAs. My appreciation also goes to the full collaboration of 03 inside the module, and to the extensive support of Shuguang and the entire technical team. From the assigned tasks to the more flexible assignments, we feel greater and greater confidence in conducting extravehicular activities. China's space station will always remain something to look forward to," said Cai, commander of Shenzhou-19 spaceflight mission crew.

"I express my gratitude to 01, Shuguang, and all the ground staff. Today, our crew and the ground team worked together to make the extravehicular activities a success. As I admired the spectacular view in space, I felt deep in my heart how important and great a cause the manned spaceflight is. I want to take this opportunity to thank all those who dedicate themselves to this cause -- those who were here before us and who are with us along the way. Thank you all for your hard work, so that we were given the chance to conduct a spacewalk. The cause of the manned spaceflight is a relay race, and we are in it every step of the way. Let us keep striving and head for the future together," said Song.

"Congratulations to 01 and 02 for successfully completing your talks. Both of you made breakthroughs and I'm proud of your excellent performance. Meanwhile, my thanks also go to Shuguang and all the staff who worked day and night on this mission. Everybody up in space and on Earth work as one in our exploration and joint efforts for a promising tomorrow. I wish everyone sweet dreams tonight," Wang said.

China launched the Shenzhou-19 crewed spaceship on Oct 30, sending three astronauts -- including the country's first female space engineer -- to its orbiting space station for a six-month mission.

Shenzhou-19 crew sets new record for longest extravehicular mission by Chinese astronauts

Shenzhou-19 crew sets new record for longest extravehicular mission by Chinese astronauts

Shenzhou-19 crew sets new record for longest extravehicular mission by Chinese astronauts

Shenzhou-19 crew sets new record for longest extravehicular mission by Chinese astronauts

Shenzhou-19 crew sets new record for longest extravehicular mission by Chinese astronauts

The first widespread heavy rainfall China has experienced this year has triggered emergency responses across the country.

The National Meteorological Center (NMC) said the heavy rain is set to intensify throughout Saturday night to Sunday.

Level-IV flood control emergency responses were activated at 12:00 on Saturday for central China's Hubei Province and the southwestern Chongqing Municipality, while responses at the same level were maintained for the southern province of Guangdong and the southwestern province of Guizhou.

On early Saturday, heavy rain hit Guizhou's Zhenning Bouyei and Miao Autonomous County, with rainfall in some regions in the county exceeding 50 millimeters,

Trees toppled over on some roads in Zhenning, as thunderstorms and high winds swept the city.

Local authorities immediately launched emergency responses including hazard inspections and road obstacle clearance.

Continuing rainfalls in Guigang City in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region caused extensive flooding in major streets.

With the help of traffic control and flood drainage, the situation on the city's roads has returned to normal.

In Chongyi County, in east China's Jiangxi Province, persistent rain has flooded farmlands and triggered landslides on some roads.

Swift responses were launched to clear debris and reopen roads and traffic has started flowing again.

Heavy rains trigger emergency responses across China