A total of 1,248 students from Taiwan concluded their summer camp in Beijing on Saturday with their final visit to the Beijing Aerospace Command and Control Center and meeting with Taikonaut Fei Junlong.

Fei gave the students 10 models of the Shenzhou-6 as presents, China's second manned space craft launched in 2005 and took photos with them.

He also thanked Taiwan compatriots on their support to the space cause of the mainland, and hoped the students would make more contributions to the future of the country.

It was an impressive visit to the control center. The mainland Taikonauts were very courageous in their mission, said the students.

The Shenzhou-6 was launched successfully last October with Fei Junlong and another Taikonauts Nie Haisheng aboard. It ran for 115 hours and 32 minutes orbiting the Earth for 3.25 million kilometers during its five-day flight.

Later Saturday, the summer camp members visited the Great Wall and held a farewell party in suburban Huairou District.

A total of 1,300 students from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao and overseas took part in the summer camp from July 10. They visited Beijing colleges, the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace and held sports games during their stay.

(Xinhua News Agency July 17, 2006)