Ye Guangfu has become the first astronaut in China whose cumulative flight duration has exceeded one year, setting a new record for Chinese astronauts' time spent in orbit. He returned to Earth with his fellow crew members of the Shenzhou XVIII mission, Li Cong and Li Guangsu, on Monday morning, concluding a 192-day mission aboard the Tiangong space station, CCTV News reported.

Senior Colonel Ye Guangfu, 44, a first-grade astronaut, has successfully completed two manned spaceflight missions — Shenzhou XIII and Shenzhou XVIII.

Ye, from Chengdu, Sichuan province, joined the People's Liberation Army Air Force in August 1998 and served as a first-grade pilot in a fighter jet regiment.

In May 2010, he was chosen as a member of the second group of astronauts for the PLA Astronaut Division and obtained the qualification for manned spaceflight missions in 2014.

In July 2016, Ye participated in a survival training session in Italy organized by the European Space Agency (ESA) and later became a member of the reserve crew for the Shenzhou XII mission.

He embarked on his inaugural space journey during the Shenzhou XIII mission in October 2021 after being selected for the mission in December 2019.

In June 2022, Ye was honored with the title "Heroic Astronaut" and received the Third-grade Space Service Medal.