Chen Dong (astronaut) 2016, marking China's longest manned space flight to date. The reentry module of the Shenzhou-11 spacecraft landed in Inner Mongolia around 2.15 p.m(China time) after detaching from the space lab on 17 November. For his achievements on the Shenzhou 11 mission, Chen was awarded the Spaceflight Merit Medal (Third Class) along with the honorary title of "hero astronaut" on 26 December 2016 by the Central Military Commission. Chen has twin sons. Chen Dong (astronaut) Chen Dong (; born 12 December 1978) is a Chinese pilot and astronaut selected as part of the Shenzhou program. A fighter pilot in the People's
Chinese as a foreign language also dispatched Chinese teachers abroad, and by the early 1960s had sent teachers afar as the Congo, Cambodia, Yemen and France. In 1962, with the approval of the State Council, the Higher Preparatory School for Foreign Students was set up, later renamed the Beijing Language and Culture University. The programs were disrupted for several years during the Cultural Revolution. According to the Chinese Ministry of Education, there are 330 institutions teaching Mandarin Chinese as a foreign language, receiving about 40,000 foreign students. In addition, there are almost 5,000 Chinese language teachers. Since 1992 the State Education Commission has managed a