Shenzhou

China's future astronauts can't have bad breath, cavities, or scars if they hope to join the next wave of Chinese space exploration. Hospitals have begun the first of three rounds of tests to weed out candidates who fail to meet the rigorous standards.

In the countryside north of Beijing, horse carts clatter past farmers’ huts, and the air is thick with the grit of coal dust. But a huge stretch of industrial complexes is also rising here: China’s rapidly expanding Aerospace City. Once a third-world nation, China is transforming itself into a global player with high-tech space aspirations.