BEIJING - The three astronauts aboard China's Shenzhou-23 spaceship have entered the Tiangong space station and met with another astronaut trio on Monday, starting a new round of in-orbit crew handover.

The Shenzhou-21 crew aboard Tiangong opened the hatch at 5:13 am (Beijing Time) and welcomed the new arrivals, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).

The two crews then took group pictures for the eighth space get-together in China's aerospace history.

They will conduct handover work aboard the space station, the CMSA said.