The capsule landed at 6.23 am (2223 GMT Wednesday) in the vast grasslands of Inner Mongolia around the Siziwang area some 300 kilometres (186 miles) northwest of the capital Beijing.

The Xinhua news agency quoted recovery officials as saying Lieutenant Colonel Yang, 38, was in good health and the Beijing Space Command and Control Centre announced the mission was a success.

Five helicopters and some 14 vans were at the landing zone.

Yang exited the capsule on his own, looking dazed, and was seen on television waving to the recovery team following his 21-hour flight that covered 600,000 kilometres (372,000 miles).

He was immediately steered to a chair outside the capsule.

Premier Wen Jiabao was seen on television talking to him on the phone and smiling widely and clapping after he hung up.

Xinhua said he offered congratulations on behalf of the central committee of the Chinese Communist Party, the State Council and the Central Military Commission.

China's leaders had much riding on a successful mission, hoping it would promote patriotism, national cohesion and legitimacy for its rule.

China's Aerospace Command and Control Centre gave the order at 5:35 a.m (2135 GMT) for Yang to begin his descent to Earth after he had orbited it 14 times.

The craft made a gentle turnaround upon receiving the order and the re-entry capsule separated from the orbital module and the propulsion module.

The touchdown marked the end of an historic flight which blasted off from Jiuquan in northeast China at 9 am (0100 GMT) Wednesday and propelled China alongside Russia and the United States as the only nations to achieve the feat.

Yang, a fighter pilot with more than 1,300 hours flight time, is set to become a national hero after emulating Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin's first flight some 42 years ago.

Live footage from inside the capsule had shown him apparently in good spirits, speaking of his pride with his wife and Defence Minister Cao Gangchuan.

President Hu Jintao watched the blast-off at the Jiuquan Launch Center and hailed the launch as "the glory of our great motherland."

Hu said the culmination of the 11-year space program was a "historic step of the Chinese people in the advance of climbing over the peak of the world's science and technology."

Russia and the United States led congratulations from around the world.

NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe said the launch was "an important achievement in the history of human exploration."

And as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration struggles to get its own space shuttle program back on track after the Columbia disaster, O'Keefe added: "NASA wishes China a continued safe human space flight program."

US shuttle flights are not expected to resume until late 2004.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan also sent a congratulatory message saying the flight was "a step forward for all humankind."

The mission was tracked from 13 monitoring stations dotted across China, Namibia, Pakistan and Kenya and capped a highly secretive program codenamed Project 921 that has cost billions of dollars.

The Shenzhou, or "Divine Vessel," is based on the three-seat Russian Soyuz capsule, which the Soviets first launched some 36 years ago, albeit updated in key areas such as the life-support and computer systems.

Beijing, however, insists everything sent into space is developed and made in China.

While prestige is a key component of China's desire to compete in space with other world powers, Chinese officials have said there are military connotations.

Beijing has played this down in recent days and the United States has indicated it is willing to accept this version of events.

Yang unveiled a Chinese and United Nations flag while in orbit in what the Chinese media said was intended to highlight pursuit of a peaceful exploration of space.

SPACE.WIRE