Forty-five of China's top aviators launched their long journey toward space Thursday when they were short-listed for training at the nation's space academy.
China's first female would-be astronauts are among the group.
The prospective space travellers will compete to be named among the five men and two women who will be trained as China's second batch of astronauts, the People's Liberation Army General Armament Department said Thursday.
"They have all displayed excellent mastery of flight skills and boast great psychological qualities," an officer with the General Armament Department said.
China's first batch of 14 astronauts, all men, were selected in 1995.
Among them, Yang Liwei, who is now 44, made history in 2003 when he was the first Chinese national to voyage aboard the Shenzhou V spacecraft beyond the planet's atmosphere.
So far, six people from that first batch have made it into space.
The 45 candidates hoping to be selected for space training have an average age of 30 - the youngest is 27 and the oldest, 34.
All 30 male candidates are fighter pilots and the 15 females are transport pilots. They all serve in the PLA Air Force.
The 45 pilots will undergo more screening - including physiological and psychological checks - before seven are picked to begin training.
The fact that China is looking for female astronauts came as no surprise to experts.
"Women are believed to be better suited to long-term missions in space," said Pang Zhihao, a researcher with the China Academy of Space Technology.
He said overseas studies have shown that zero gravity may have less impact on women. Women are also believed to be better at handling the loneliness of space, he said.
Worldwide, more than 50 women have visited space.
China's next batch of astronauts should be ready for liftoff in four to five years.
China plans to launch the Shenzhou VIII and Shenzhou IX spacecraft in 2011.
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