The three-person crew, consisting of commander Jing Haipeng on his fourth mission, engineer Zhu Yangzhu, and Beihang University professor Gui Haichao, docked at the Tianhe core module of the space station after taking off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre.

The launch was a "complete success" and the astronauts are said to be in good condition.

The mission is significant as it marks the first time a civilian has been sent into space by China, and is part of the country's plans to send a crewed mission to the Moon by 2030.

China aims to land a crewed spacecraft on the Moon by 2030 and set up a lunar station called Tiangong, which successfully docked with the core structure last year.

The station carries advanced scientific equipment, including the world's first space-based cold atomic clock system.

Tiangong will remain in low Earth orbit for at least 10 years and be constantly crewed by rotating teams of astronauts.

China's space agency is actively seeking international cooperation in the project and plans to send two crewed missions to Tiangong every year.