I faced a race against time to become a pioneer

Iwas born to a poor family in rural Shanxi province. When I was in middle school, I saw a photo of some People’s Liberation Army Air Force pilots training in their fighter jets and wished I could be like them.

I joined the PLA Air Force when I was 18, and served as a fighter pilot for seven years. In 1998, I became one of the 14 first-generation astronauts and started to receive stringent training.

During my first 10 years at the Astronaut Center of China, I spent almost all of my time studying and training. I rarely went to bed before midnight because I was aware that I was racing against time to turn myself into a qualified astronaut.

Since my first mission, Shenzhou VII, in 2008, I have taken part in two other spaceflights. Every time I returned to Earth, people asked me the same question: “Do you want to fly again?”

My answer was always the same: “I desperately want to go into space again!”

I have been awarded many honors by the people and the Communist Party of China. I was given an August 1 Medal by President Xi Jinping and also elected as a delegate to the Party’s 19th National Congress.

I think the best way for me to repay the debt is to try to carry out every assignment to the best of my abilities.

I want to thank all the scientists, engineers and workers who paved the way for our flights. Hundreds of thousands of them spent numerous days and nights designing, producing and testing rockets, spacecraft and equipment. They are also heroes and heroines.