Breathtaking beauty of Earth through Chinese astronauts’ lens

Photo taken by Chinese astronaut Liu Boming shows Iran’s Lake Urmia, the second-largest saltwater lake in the world, in rusty-red. With the lake water evaporating quickly in the sizzling summer, the body of water is filled with algae and bacteria that turned it red. (Photo courtesy of the China Manned Space Engineering Office)

The China Manned Space Engineering Office on Sept. 9 published its second batch of high-resolution photographs of the Earth that were taken by Chinese astronauts Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo, who are stationed in the Tianhe core module of China's space station.

Capturing the breathtaking beauty of the Earth, these photos provide a spectacular tour of the planet’s lands and waters, including Lake Urmia, a saltwater lake in Iran, and Sayram Lake in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, nicknamed the "last tear of the Atlantic, and Caspian Sea.“

The stunning photos have triggered discussions among China’s netizens. Some expressed the hope to see China’s Great Wall from space, while others felt proud of China’s achievements in aerospace.