Located at the foot of ancient ruins of the Great Wall, Jiuquan city is the closest most people will get to the historic event that will send China's first man into space.

Despite being named the Jiuquan Launch Centre, the top secret pad that has been the scene of space experiments since 1958 and will propel the rocket into orbit is in fact 200 kilometres (124 miles) away from the city in Inner Mongolia.

With security ratcheted up, army blockades are turning people away who do not have the required security clearance on the only road that leads to military-controlled site and the "space city" that has sprung up around it.

Nevertheless, one travel agency is advertising trips to the launch area and says it will be taking 200 Chinese-only tourists to witness the blast-off, expected anytime from Wednesday morning.

"We have nearly 200 people booked who will leave with us to the space city on Wednesday at four in the morning to attend the launching of Shenzhou V," said Mr. Wang, a spokesman for the travel agency that specialises in aerospace tours.

"Some of the people are from the area, others come from Shanghai, Tianjin, Beijing or Anhui province," he said.

Included in the tour is a visit to a "martyrs" cemetery that serves as a reminder of the long history of China's space program.

Some 500 people involved in research and tests at Jiuquan are buried just a short distance from the launch site.

Among those interred is Marshal Nie Rongzhen, one of the founders of not just China's space program, but also its endeavors to acquire a nuclear bomb.

And all this for a tour price of just 286 yuans (34.5 dollars).

When security is eased after the launch, Wang says it will be possible for many more curious tourists to take in "space city", an eco-friendly town with more than 60 oases, a swimming pool and a nature park, according to the Xinhua news agency.

As a supply route, a special railway line has been built, as well as an airport at Dingxin, described as the third largest military airport in Asia by the travel agency and with a runway reportedly able to accommodate 747 jets.

"For the moment, trips to 'space city' are restricted to Chinese, but they should be open to foreigners within one to two years," said Wang, who says his agency has the necessary military authorizations to conduct tours.

"On the whole, there is approximately 1,000 people who will attend the launching of Shenzhou V. Certain people will go there individually, but it is necessary to have an invitation letter."

Other agencies in Jiuquan don't seem to have the same access and instead will ferry tourists to the Great Wall.

In Jiuquan city itself, life continued at its normal rhythm Tuesday.

Other than a Shenzhou hotel and a Shenzhou law firm, evidence that it is the closest population centre to the hub of China's multi-billion-dollar space program are few and far between.

"Like all Chinese, we will pay much attention to the launch, perhaps even a little more than elsewhere, said Mr. Ma, a local resident.

"But people from here do not work in the city of space, it is too far."

SPACE.WIRE