China's first-ever space traveller said he wished his 211/2 hour mission had been 'a bit longer', while state media on Friday lavished praise on the man lauded as a 'space hero' and the nation's newest celebrity.
Yang Liwei said he felt 'a little bit fatigued' about 10 hours into the mission, but managed to eat the food prepared for him and even slept for about half an hour.
'Of course I wish it had lasted a bit longer,' Yang said after he landed in his first official interview with state-broadcaster China Central Television, a transcript of which was issued by the official Xinhua News Agency.
Beijing newspapers devoted their front pages to full-colour spreads of Yang exiting the teapot-shaped Shenzhou V space capsule after touching down at 6.23am on Thursday on the plains of Inner Mongolia.
'Today is the greatest day of my life,' the Beijing Youth Daily proclaimed above a picture of Yang waving at reporters who rushed to the spot of his touchdown. The headline quoted part of a statement reportedly made by Yang immediately after his return to earth.
The programme makes China the world's third spacefaring nation, along with Russia and the United States, earning enormous prestige at home and abroad for the communist government.
China's leaders have poured their hopes and billions of dollars into their space programme, hoping for just such a splashy success - and the bragging rights that accompany it.