A cheerful crowd of several hundred Chinese and Russians turned out on the weekend in Beijing to celebrate Yuri Gagarin, the first human to reach outer space and orbit the Earth.

Russian Ambassador to China Andrey Denisov and Chinese astronaut Jing Haipeng unveiled a statue of the Russian space hero at the Russian Culture Center. Jing told the crowd that Gagarin's achievement on April 12, 1961, was a triumph for all mankind, adding that cosmonaut had been an inspiration to everyone in the Chinese space program.

Denisov noted that Saturday was a national holiday in Russia.

After unveiling the bronze bust of Gagarin, the ambassador led the crowd of invited guests inside for a tour of a photography exhibition by Russian Prime Minister Dmity Medvedev.

Videographer: Wang Yuxi & Huan CAO

Voiceover: Sun Tianyuan

Editor: Huan CAO

Script: Mike Peters

Producer: Flora Yue