Colonel Zhang Zhiyuan, an astronaut of the Shenzhou XXIII mission, grew up fascinated by the wonders of navigating the skies.

"When I was a little boy, my friends and I usually played in the farm fields. Back then, we would often hear military aircraft roaring past overhead. We would run after the planes and shout excitedly. At that time, I held pilots in great admiration and thought this profession was an exceptionally noble calling," said the Gansu province native, who will celebrate his 40th birthday aboard the Tiangong space station next month.

Memories of the astronaut's passion for flying remain vivid in the mind of his father, Zhang Jukun, a retired schoolteacher.

"One day, his mother and I were working in the fields while he played beside the ridge. A plane flew across the sky, and he spotted it and kept chasing after it, running about 400 meters," Zhang Jukun told Gansu Daily. "I pulled him back and told him he could never catch up with an aircraft. Right away he asked me, 'When can I get to fly a plane myself? 'And I answered him, 'If you keep working hard, you will make it someday'."

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In the years that followed, Zhang Zhiyuan grew into a caring and sensible young man. He often helped with farm work on the family's land after school.

He studied diligently throughout his primary and middle school years, consistently achieving above-average grades, while never letting go of his dream of flying.

When Zhang Zhiyuan turned 19, a long-awaited opportunity arrived: recruitment officers from the People's Liberation Army Air Force came to his school, Baiyin No 1 High School.

He decided to try and soon stood out among the more than 200 candidates. After passing a series of rigorous tests, he became the only student from his school admitted to the Aviation University of Air Force in Changchun, Jilin province.

Throughout his university years, he trained to high standards, noting that "the path from a flight student to a qualified pilot is filled with tough elimination rounds. To attain outstanding physical fitness, I stuck to extra training every single day".

After graduating, he was assigned to a fighter jet unit and rose through the ranks. He took part in numerous combat exercises, accumulating more than 1,200 hours of flight operations.

In the summer of 2018, Zhang was playing basketball with his comrades when a fellow officer rushed over with news that China was recruiting its third generation of astronauts.

He and his teammates immediately stopped the game. After reviewing the recruitment criteria, he signed up without hesitation.

"I have paid close attention to China's manned space program ever since the Shenzhou V mission. I was deeply impressed by how perfectly every mission concluded. Still, I never dared to dream that I could get the chance to become an astronaut myself before that day," he said.

Zhang advanced through successive selection rounds, undergoing strict medical examinations, psychological evaluations, and an unforgettable first experience in centrifuge training.

"Inside the centrifuge cabin, a massive pressure crashed over me, and my body resisted instinctively. My head swayed back and forth and side to side, yet I had to stay conscious and answer questions at any time," he said.

"Long after that, I grasped the skills for centrifuge training and realized how futile it was to rely on physical strength alone."

Apart from physical conditioning, mastering complex spaceflight theory felt like a long-distance endurance run. He pushed himself to understand and memorize every formula, principle and data set.

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As a result of his dedication and perseverance, he was selected for the Shenzhou XXIII mission, finally realizing his dream of flying beyond the atmosphere.

"The dream of flying into space is built upon endless learning, rigorous training and steady accumulation of know-how. There are no shortcuts on this journey.

"Over the past years, I have encountered training bottlenecks and felt disappointed after failing to be selected for previous crews. It is exactly these experiences that have taught me the essence of perseverance. True devotion lies in giving it your all even when you fully understand how tough pursuing a dream can be," he said at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on Saturday, a day before embarking on his maiden space journey.

Contact the writers at zhaolei@chinadaily.com.cn