China's first astronaut Yang Liwei said in an interview on the China Central Television Thursday evening that "I did not see the Great Wall from space."

However, he said the Earth looked "very beautiful."

There was a popular saying in China that the Great Wall was the only manmade architecture that could be sighted by naked eyes in space.

Many Chinese Internet surfers had left messages on the BBS (billboard bulletin system) asking Yang to verify this allegation, and the TV anchor person transferred their question to Yang during the interview.

Earlier, some American astronauts who had entered space had denied this allegation when they visited China and gave lectures to the public.

(Xinhua News Agency October 17, 2003)