The two successful extravehicular activities during China's Shenzhou-18 mission are attributable to thorough preparations like targeted trainings for astronauts, and sophisticated coordination between crew members and ground control team, said Li Guangsu, a member of Shenzhou-18 crew at a press conference in Beijing on Wednesday.
Li Guangsu, together with the other two Shenzhou-18 members, Ye Guangfu and Li Cong, made their first public appearance since returning from China's Tiangong space station two months ago.
During their mission, the three astronauts carried out two extravehicular activities, supported several cargo entries and exits, and conducted dozens of scientific experiments.
"I'm happy and proud to be able to conduct a spacewalk in my first spaceflight mission. Since China's space station was fully constructed and entered a stage of operation and development, avoiding space debris, strengthening the overall protection of the space station, and maintaining its safety have drawn attentions from all sides. So, we conducted targeted underwater and virtual reality trainings on the ground to increase physical exercise. Through in-orbit training, we knew better of operations in a zero-gravity environment," said Li.
"During the mission, under the scientific guidance of the ground extravehicular expert team and the direction and the arrangement of the commander, our crew coordinated well with our ground colleagues. We regard the national interest as paramount, and we were always strict with ourselves and held ourselves to the highest standards and dared not slack off a bit. As we maintained a high sense of responsibility for the space program throughout the mission, we made sure that we were fully prepared for the tasks, operated with extreme care each time, and strengthened checks. When each part of the work was fully prepared, the success followed naturally," he said.
Successful spacewalks attributable to good preparation, coordination: astronaut
Beijing has stepped up efforts to provide support to international travelers with enhanced service centers and assistance points being set up at airports in the Chinese capital, as the expansion of visa-free policies in China sees the arrival of more people from overseas.
One-stop service counters have been operational in the international arrival areas of the Beijing Capital International Airport and the city's Daxing International Airport since the start of the year.
The counters offer over 20 types of essential services in areas such as finance, communication, transportation, culture and tourism, ensuring foreign visitors can find convenient information to help their travel go smoothly.
Foreign travelers can visit the counters to make cash withdrawals with their bank cards, exchange currency, and get help with downloading local mobile payment apps.
In the Mobile Services area, services such as the issuance of SIM cards for mobile phones and airport Wi-Fi access are provided.
Wang Shuo, an employee from China Unicom, one of the country's largest telecoms companies, introduced a special SIM card which is being offered to international travelers.
"It basically has three basic functions. First, it works like a regular SIM card, which means you can make phone calls and go on the Internet. Another one is you can make a payment with it without download any apps. You don't need Alipay, you don't need to download WeChat. The last function will be [for] taking public transportation, which means you can take buses or the subway," he said.
Additionally, travelers can buy a 'Beijing Pass' -- a versatile card designed to simplify transportation, sightseeing and shopping payments.
The counters also offer help and advice on how to buy subway tickets or airport shuttle bus passes, while a selection of brochures featuring cultural, sports and business activities are also available.
Staff say they are on-hand around the clock to offer assistance to all arrivals.
"We are here 24 hours a day and seven days a week. And if you have any questions, just come to this counter. We will try our best to help you and we always provide information about the terminal facilities and transportation and how to use the mobile payments and the common applications in China," said Cai Pengcheng, a staff member at a service center at the Beijing Capital International Airport.
Beijing continues to enhance services, assistance for int'l visitors
