Some 120 Chinese students are reaching for the stars this summer in an once-in-a-lifetime experience.

They are taking part in a 6-day-long summer camp on aeronautics and astronautics in the national capital, which started on Tuesday.

Those selected come from primary and middle schools, and colleges in provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities such as Xinjiang, Shandong, Beijing, Sichuan, Guangxi and Ningxia.

Due to the successful launches of the nation's Shenzhou series of spaceships over the last decade and especially Shenzhou-V, China's first manned spacecraft, space science has become one of the most popular topics in the country.

The Shenzhou-V blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the northwestern province of Gansu at 9 AM on October 15 last year. The spacecraft, atop a Long March II F rocket, was piloted by Yang Liwei, 38, a lieutenant colonel of the People's Liberation Army.

An increasing number of people have been gaining an interest in space and scientific exhibitions, and activities have been well attended, particularly by students.

The summer camp is one activity under the International Development Program for Excellent Youth in Space Applications umbrella, which was initiated in 2002 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Ministry of Science and Technology's International Institute of Spatial Information Technology (IISIT).

"The purposes of the programs are to disseminate scientific spirit and knowledge, assist youth understand space science, promote international communication between young students and enhance their capacity-building," said Ma Lan, a UNESCO representative.

"These purposes are fully consistent with the UNESCO goal in education and science."

It is the second time that a summer camp about space science is being held. The first was held in 2002, said IISIT Vice-Director Zheng Lizhong.

"The program offers an international platform to cultivate our children and further improve the quality of education for the nation's youth," Zheng said.

Ma hopes the participants at the summer camp can broaden their horizons toward the world and space.

"Space knowledge is not isolated," said Cao Bin, a first-year Tongji University student, who is majoring in computer science and taking part in the camp.

"It is closely linked to mathematics, physics and computer science, which we learn at school."

When discussing the successful launch of Shenzhou-V last year, Cao said: "Shenzhou-V was our focus at that time. Many of my classmates watched the live TV footage of the launch."

With physics as his favorite subject, Cao says he hopes more interest and enthusiasm toward learning will be created through the camp.

Dai Youfa, a school headmaster from Qingdao attending the camp said the participating students have shown an ability to grasp scientific knowledge during their schooling.

Dai said most of his students take part in various activities organized by the school which are related to gaining further scientific knowledge.

The first lecture at the camp was presented by a Chinese Academy of Science expert on an astronaut's life while in space.

Zhou Xuan, a senior middle school student from Xinjiang, said: "It is a good opportunity for us to have a face-to-face communication with many scientists. I'm looking forward to all of the lectures."

In the following days, a series of talks, games, visits and other events await the students, Zheng said.

(China Daily July 8, 2004)