¡¡¡¡HONG KONG, Nov. 1 (Xinhuanet) -- The Exhibition of China's First Manned Space Mission opened at the Hong Kong Science Museum Saturday, with China's first astronaut Yang Liwei and Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Tung Chee Hwa attending as officiating guests.

¡¡¡¡Other officiating guests included Hu Shixiang, deputy director-general of China's Manned Space Mission Program; Gao Siren, director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR; Wang Yufa, political commissar of the PLA Hong Kong Garrison; Wu Hailong, vice commissioner of the Foreign Ministry inthe HKSAR; and Patrick Ho, HKSAR secretary for Home Affairs.

¡¡¡¡At the opening ceremony, Tung extended the warmest welcome and noblest respect for all the heroes who have participated in the manned space mission, saying their spirit would encourage Hong Kong people to overcome difficulties and strive for a new height.

¡¡¡¡Yang Liwei signed his name on an exhibition poster which is about two-meter high. The poster, with Yang's image and the Shenzhou-5 spaceship on it, will be displayed on the exhibition and collected as a museum piece.

¡¡¡¡"I have felt the warmth of the big family of the Chinese nationsince I came to the beautiful Hong Kong and It is a pride for me to look back upon the glorious course of China's manned space mission together with Hong Kong people," he said excitedly.

¡¡¡¡The exhibition, which will run around-the-clock until next Tuesday afternoon, features the return capsule of the Shenzhou-5 spacecraft, Yang's spacesuit, the landing parachute and sample of his space foods.

¡¡¡¡Also on display will be 1:4 models of the carrier rocket and the spaceship.

¡¡¡¡The 38-year-old Yang, who traveled over 600,000 kilometers in space in the Shenzhou-5 spacecraft on Oct. 15-16, became a hero of the Chinese nation overnight. Enditem