Chi Wanchun (Right), head of the General Armaments Department of People's Liberation Army (PLA), awards the rank of major general to Yang Liwei, China's first astronaut on Tuesday, July 22, 2008.

BEIJING, July 22 (CRIENGLISH)-- Yang Liwei, China's first astronaut has been promoted to the rank of major general, china.com.cn reported.

During the promotion" title="n.促进；提升；倡仪">promotion ceremony held on Tuesday, Chi Wanchun, the head of the General Armaments Department of People's Liberation Army (PLA), awarded the rank to Yang Liwei.

Yang completed a historic" title="a.有历史意义的">historic 21-hour space mission, which began on Oct 15, 2003, and became an instant hero in China.