China Space Station-themed kite successfully launched in Weifang Binhai International Flying Field, East China's Shandong Province, to celebrate the return of taikonauts on April 17, 2022. Photo: VCG

Recently, a video of a China Space Station-themed kite flying to welcome home the three Shenzhou-13 taikonauts in Weifang, East China's Shandong Province, attracted wide attention on Chinese social media platforms. 

The kite, 3.5 meters wide, 8 meters long with a total body-tail length of 150 meters, was completed by more than 20 kite artists over two months. Pictures of the three taikonauts, Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping, and Ye Guangfu, were also attached to the kite. To welcome the three heroes, the kite enacted the scene of the spaceship docking with the space station and taikonauts leaving the capsule.

Weifang is the world capital and birthplace of kites. The city has a long history of kite design and the kites are famous for their exquisite craftsmanship. After seeing the video of the "Space Station" kite, netizens joked by saying: "In Weifang, there is nothing that cannot fly." One netizen also commented: "What a great story for us Chinese people! This is the best way for us on the ground to show respect for those in space!"

The Shenzhou-13 crew have safely returned to Earth after their epic six-month orbital trip, which nearly doubled the previous record of China's longest single-flight space mission of 92 days set by the Shenzhou-12 on April 16th. The three taikonauts will undergo three to four weeks of routine quarantine, rest and rehabilitation.