Cai said that he and the other crew members often gazed at the "beautiful, blue" Earth when they were in orbit.

"The mother planet is the shared home for all mankind. The Earth needs all of us to safeguard it," he said. "In this mission, we successfully completed all of our tasks given by the motherland and the people. We will continue striving to contribute to new chapters in China's space cause."

Song said that he was privileged to fly in space for China and that it felt good to return home.

"We are looking forward to seeing our families that we miss so much and also to meeting our comrades who have accompanied us day and night. We wish to express our gratitude for your hard work," he said.

Wang said: "After this mission, I can now report to my motherland and its people with full confidence: I have the resolve and capability to complete many more challenging tasks. I am deeply convinced that we, Chinese space pioneers, will keep marching farther and farther. We are destined to explore the deeper reaches of space."

After the mandatory procedures were completed at the landing site, the crew members were flown back to Beijing. They will undergo a six-month quarantine and recuperation program, which is a standard procedure for Chinese astronauts returning from space.

The Shenzhou XIX spacecraft departed from the Tiangong space station at around 4 am on Wednesday. The vessel then flew in a return trajectory and gradually reentered the atmosphere.

Before setting out on their return trip, Cai's team handed over their work to a new crew, transmitted scientific experimental data to Earth and sorted and transferred materials between the station and their spaceship.

Cai and his teammates were launched from the Jiuquan center on Oct 30 and arrived at Tiangong later that day, becoming the eighth crew to inhabit the space station.

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