Manned space station program prototypes arrive in Hainan

Two major prototypes in China's manned space station program have been transported to the Wenchang Space Launch Center in South China's Hainan province for pre-launch preparations, according to the China Manned Space Agency.

The agency said in a statement on Monday that the arrival of the prototypes for the Chinese space station's core module and the country's new-generation manned spacecraft meant that the construction of the space station will begin soon.

They were carried by ships from Tianjin, a northern coastal municipality and home to the spacecraft's manufacturing complexes, and spent about a week on the trip to the southernmost island province, it added.

The core module's prototype will take part in ground drills for the Long March 5B carrier rocket at the Wenchang center while the new manned spaceship's prototype will be launched by the rocket's debut flight from the center.

The first Long March 5B, a variant of the country's biggest and mightiest rocket, the Long March 5, has been made and is receiving ground tests. It will be ferried by ships from Tianjin to Hainan in February, the agency said.