Huludao city in northeast China's Liaoning Province, the hometown of China's first astronaut Yang Liwei, is also an important pilot training base.

Since the founding of New China in 1949, the city has selected and transferred a total of 344 pilot candidates to the country's aviation colleges. In 1995, a training base offering preparatory courses for pilot candidates was officially established in Huludao City.

The base selected 15-year-old male students from grade three classes of junior middle schools and opened special physical and psychological courses, which are exclusively designed for training pilots. The candidates also received regular high school courses in the city's major high school.

The candidates also received physical examinations every half year. Those who did not pass the exam were sent back to routine high school classes.

Zhang Dongsheng, secretary of the city committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) said in future the municipal government will intensify the infrastructure construction of the training base. He hoped the base would train more qualified pilot candidates for the country.

(Xinhua News Agency October 27, 2003)