A grand ceremony was held at Beijing's "space city" Wednesday, to mark the naming of two asteroids after "Shenzhou," China's first manned space vehicle, and Yang Liwei, the country's first man to orbit in space.

The naming has been approved by the International Astronomical Union (IAU).

Lu Yongxiang, vice-chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee and president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and Chen Bingde, director of the General Armament Department of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), handed over the certificates and bronze plaques to the Headquarters of China's Manned Space Program and the Chinese astronaut.

The two asteroids, No.8256 and No.21064, were discovered by Chinese and foreign astronomers in 1981 and 1991.

(Xinhua News Agency March 17, 2005)