The Shenzhou XVIII mission crew returned to Earth early on Monday morning, concluding a six-month mission onboard the Tiangong space station.

The Shenzhou XVIII spacecraft's reentry capsule, carrying the three astronauts, mission commander Senior Colonel Ye Guangfu and crew members Lieutenant Colonel Li Cong and Lieutenant Colonel Li Guangsu, touched down at 1:24 am local time at the Dongfeng Landing Site in the middle of the Gobi Desert in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, after a return journey lasting more than nine hours.