(cnhubei.com) Relatives and townsfolks of Nie Haisheng, one of the Shenzhou VI astronauts celebrated the safe return of him in his hometown Zaoyang of central China’s Hubei Province on October 17, 2005

Nie Haisheng and Fei Junlong, two Shenzhou VI astronauts returned safely before dawn October 17 on China's second manned space flight after a five-day flight.

Nie’s former classmates and local citizens gathered in a square carrying banners to celebrate his return.