Dongfeng Landing Site, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, north China - May 27, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Various of comprehensive drill for Shenzhou-21 crew's return in progress
2. Various of vehicles, drones
3. Words on vehicle reading "Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center" in Chinese
4. Words on vehicle reading "China Manned Space Program" in Chinese

The final full-system drill was completed at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Wednesday night to ensure a safe return of the Shenzhou-21 crew upon completion of their mission, which lasted more than 200 days aboard China's Tiangong space station.

The drill tested the organization, coordination, and emergency response capabilities of all units involved in the retrieval of the return capsule.

Drills for communication coordination and air-ground coordinated search and rescue had previously been conducted at the landing site.

The Shenzhou-21 astronauts, Zhang Lu, Wu Fei and Zhang Hongzhang, will return to Earth aboard the Shenzhou-22 manned spacecraft, which is scheduled to land around dusk.

The Dongfeng landing site will continue to use the proven drone lighting deployment plan from previous nighttime search and rescue operations, ensuring sufficient overall illumination and clear visibility at the site, thereby supporting continuous operations both during during daytime and at night.

At present, all search and rescue forces at the site are ready, with equipment and devices in good condition and favorable weather conditions, meeting all the requirements for carrying out the return mission.

The Shenzhou-21 crew entered the space station on November 1, 2025. After completing a full six-month stay in orbit, the trio has continued working on the space station for another month, and are set to break the record for the longest stay in space by Chinese astronauts.