ASTRONAUTS from China

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Chinese Astronauts of all time. This list of famous Chinese Astronauts is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Chinese Astronauts.

1. Yang Liwei (b. 1965)

With an HPI of 52.91, Yang Liwei is the most famous Chinese Astronaut.  His biography has been translated into 50 different languages on wikipedia.

Yang Liwei (Chinese: 杨利伟; born 21 June 1965) is a Chinese major general, former military pilot, and former taikonaut at the People's Liberation Army. In October 2003, Yang became the first person sent into space by the Chinese space program. This mission, Shenzhou 5, made China the third country to independently send humans into space. He is currently a vice chief designer of China Manned Space Engineering.

2. Shannon Lucid (b. 1943)

With an HPI of 51.19, Shannon Lucid is the 2nd most famous Chinese Astronaut.  Her biography has been translated into 40 different languages.

Shannon Matilda Wells Lucid (born January 14, 1943) is an American biochemist and retired NASA astronaut. She has flown in space five times, including a prolonged mission aboard the Russian space station Mir in 1996, and is the only American woman to have stayed on Mir. From 1996 to 2007, Lucid held the record for the longest duration spent in space by an American and by a woman. She was awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in December 1996, making her the tenth person and the first woman to be accorded the honor. Lucid is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma, where she earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry in 1963, a master's degree in biochemistry in 1970, and a PhD in biochemistry in 1973. She was a laboratory technician at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation from 1964 to 1966, a research chemist at Kerr-McGee from 1966 to 1968, and a research associate at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation from 1973 to 1978. In 1978, Lucid was recruited by NASA for astronaut training with NASA Astronaut Group 8, the first class of astronauts to include women. She flew in space five times: on STS-51-G, STS-34, STS-43, STS-58, and her mission to Mir, for which Lucid traveled to the space station on Space Shuttle Atlantis with STS-76 and returned six months later with STS-79. She was the NASA Chief Scientist from 2002 to 2003 and a capsule communicator (CAPCOM) at Mission Control for numerous Space Shuttle missions, including STS-135, the final mission of the Space Shuttle program. Lucid announced her retirement from NASA in 2012.

3. Liu Yang (b. 1978)

With an HPI of 45.19, Liu Yang is the 3rd most famous Chinese Astronaut.  Her biography has been translated into 48 different languages.

Liu Yang (Chinese: 刘洋; pinyin: Liú Yáng; born 6 October 1978) is a Chinese military transport pilot and taikonaut. On 16 June 2012, Yang became the first Chinese woman in space, as a crew member of Shenzhou 9.

4. Taylor Wang (b. 1940)

With an HPI of 45.11, Taylor Wang is the 4th most famous Chinese Astronaut.  His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Taylor Gun-Jin Wang (simplified Chinese: 王赣骏; traditional Chinese: 王贛駿; pinyin: Wáng Gànjùn; born June 16, 1940) is a Chinese-born American scientist and in 1985, became the first person of Chinese origin to go into space. While an employee of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Wang was a payload specialist on the Space Shuttle Challenger mission STS-51-B.

5. Fei Junlong (b. 1965)

With an HPI of 43.64, Fei Junlong is the 5th most famous Chinese Astronaut.  His biography has been translated into 29 different languages.

Major general Fei Junlong (Chinese: 费俊龙; pinyin: Fèi Jùnlóng; born 5 May 1965) is a Chinese military pilot and taikonaut. He was the commander of Shenzhou 6, the second crewed spaceflight of China's space program, and was selected as commander for the Shenzhou 15 mission to the Tiangong space station.

6. Nie Haisheng (b. 1964)

With an HPI of 43.48, Nie Haisheng is the 6th most famous Chinese Astronaut.  His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Nie Haisheng (born 13 October 1964) is a major general of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Strategic Support Force (PLASSF) in active service as an taikonaut and the third commander (unit chief) of the PLA Astronaut Corps (PLAAC). He was a PLA Air Force fighter pilot and director of navigation. Nie flew on Shenzhou 6 and served as commander on both the Shenzhou 10 and Shenzhou 12 missions, the latter of which became the first crew to visit the Tiangong space station. In 2021, with a combined 111 days in space, he set a new record for longest stay in space by a Chinese astronaut, becoming the first to exceed 100 days and is one of only two Chinese astronauts to have flown three times.

7. Jing Haipeng (b. 1966)

With an HPI of 41.66, Jing Haipeng is the 7th most famous Chinese Astronaut.  His biography has been translated into 26 different languages.

Jing Haipeng (simplified Chinese: 景海鹏; traditional Chinese: 景海鵬; pinyin: Jǐng Hǎipéng; born 24 October 1966) is a major general of the People's Liberation Army Ground Force (PLAGF) in active service as a vice-commander of the 82nd Group Army. A fighter pilot in the PLA Air Force (PLAAF), he was selected to be a PLA Astronaut Corps (PLAAC) astronaut in 1998. He was the first Chinese astronaut to have flown on more than one mission and remains the only one to have flown on four (Shenzhou 7, Shenzhou 9, Shenzhou 11, Shenzhou 16). He also held the Chinese record for longest time spent in space from 2016 to 2021 (47 days) and again from 2023 (201 days), until his record was overtaken by Tang Hongbo in February 2024.

8. Liu Boming (b. 1966)

With an HPI of 41.56, Liu Boming is the 8th most famous Chinese Astronaut.  His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Liu Boming (simplified Chinese: 刘伯明; traditional Chinese: 劉伯明; pinyin: Liú Bómíng; born September 17, 1966) is a major general in the Chinese People's Liberation Army Strategic Support Force (PLASSF). A fighter pilot in the PLA Air Force (PLAAF), he was selected into the PLA Astronaut Corps (PLAAC) in 1998. A Shenzhou 7 veteran, he also worked on the Tiangong space station during the Shenzhou 12 mission from June to September 2021. With a combined total of three EVA's performed, he spent some 13 hours walking in space which is currently the record by a Chinese astronaut.

9. Liu Wang (b. 1969)

With an HPI of 39.21, Liu Wang is the 9th most famous Chinese Astronaut.  His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Liu Wang (simplified Chinese: 刘旺; traditional Chinese: 劉旺, born 25 March 1969) is a Chinese pilot selected as part of the Shenzhou program.

10. Wang Yaping (b. 1980)

With an HPI of 38.27, Wang Yaping is the 10th most famous Chinese Astronaut.  Her biography has been translated into 39 different languages.

Wang Yaping (Chinese: 王亚平; pinyin: Wáng Yàpíng; born January 1980) is a Chinese military transport pilot and taikonaut. Wang was the second female taikonaut selected to the People's Liberation Army Astronaut Corps, the second Chinese woman in space, and the first Chinese woman to perform a spacewalk.In April 2022, she set a new record for longest stay in space by a female Chinese astronaut with a cumulative 197 days in space.