First-time astronaut shares dream-to-reality journey with press

A first-time astronaut on China's upcoming Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceflight mission shared his journey from dream to reality with the press on Saturday, encouraging young people to root their aspirations in hard work and dedication to the country.

At a press conference at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, Zhang Zhiyuan, the astronaut, talked about his personal path from dream to liftoff.

"Tomorrow, I will set off with my teammates for space mission, realizing the dream of flying into space. From having a dream to realizing it, the journey is a long march paved with faith and perseverance. Here, I have three insights to share: First, root your dream in the soil beneath your feet. With stars in our eyes, we must all the more stand firm the ground. Behind every space dream are countless hours of studies, trainings, and accumulation. There is no shortcut," said Zhang.

"Second, transform the passion into the confidence to overcome difficulties. I've had my training bottlenecks and disappointments over failing to be chosen for a mission. Yet exactly because of them I came to understand the real meaning of perseverance. True passion means you are still willing to go all out for it after you see clearly how hard it is to pursue your dream. Third, connect your personal dreams with what the motherland needs closely. Our generation of astronauts is lucky to live in such a great era, one that gives us direction and enables our dreams to come true. When the individual's personal endeavor is to fulfill the nation's goals and the people's expectations, you'll gain the strength that will be unexhausted," said Zhang.

Zhang, as a spacecraft pilot, will carry out the Shenzhou-23 mission with flight engineer Zhu Yangzhu and payload specialist Lai Ka-ying. Zhu, once participated in the Shenzhou-16 space mission, will be the commander, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said on the same day.

Zhang and Lai come from the third and fourth batches of astronauts respectively, and will embark on their first spaceflight mission. Before being selected, Zhang was an air force pilot, and Lai worked in the Hong Kong Police Force.

The Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceship is scheduled to be launched at 23:08 on Sunday (Beijing Time) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, said the CMSA.

First-time astronaut shares dream-to-reality journey with press

Heavy rains continued to hit central and southern China on Friday, causing multiple rivers to swell beyond warning levels and prompting rescue efforts to save stranded residents.

Shimen County in central China's Hunan Province has entered a critical period for flood control following days of persistent downpours. With a high risk of secondary disasters such as mountain torrents, landslides, and mudslides, local authorities have transferred all trapped residents to safety and imposed traffic controls on affected roads.

Torrential rains also triggered flooding across south China's Guangdong Province, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and east China's Jiangxi Province. From Thursday to Friday, 15 rivers exceeded warning levels, with the highest water level reaching 1.51 meters above the warning line. Most of these waterways have now receded below their alert levels.

Fangchenggang City, Guangxi, saw the sudden onslaught of continuous heavy rain, which caused severe urban waterlogging across multiple regions. Rising river waters trapped 15 residents in Baisha Village of Gangkou District. Local fire rescue teams rushed to the scene immediately and successfully evacuated all the trapped people in batches to safe areas.

In Yangjiang City, Guangdong Province, the Moyang River experienced its second flood peak on Friday morning, hitting 6.82 meters, which was 0.02 meters above the warning level. By Friday noon, the water level had dropped to 6.7 meters. Large and medium-sized reservoirs in Yangjiang have cumulatively intercepted over 100 million cubic meters of floodwater, easing flood control pressure downstream.

The widespread rainfall has also extended to parts of east and north China.

On Friday, heavy to torrential rains hit parts of east China's Anhui, Jiangxi, central China's Hunan, Hubei and southwest China's Sichuan provinces, with extremely heavy rain recorded in some areas of Xiangtan and Changsha in Hunan Province.

According to China's National Meteorological Center (NMC), a new round of heavy rainfall will also start to develop from northwest China's Shaanxi, central China's Henan and Hubei provinces on Saturday.

The NMC continued to issue a blue rainstorm alert on Saturday, marking the 12th consecutive day of rainstorm warnings since May 12.

Flood rescue operations intensify as heavy rain hits multiple regions in China