Before the Shenzhou XV crew returned to Earth after spending 186 days on China's space station, they sent a reply letter to Earth, and the recipient was Tsering Dargye.

Tsering, 16, a Tibetan youth, is from the Lhokha city of the Tibet autonomous region and is currently studying at the Beijing No 80 High School.

Tsering, enrolled by the school in 2021 for his strong academic performance, is one of the more than 10,000 people from various fields who sent letters to the crew, but he is the only one who received a reply.

▲ Tsering Dargye delivers a speech at a ceremony welcoming new Tibetan students at the Beijing No 80 High School in February. [Photo provided to China Daily]

"I was thrilled at first, and then, after calming down, I felt a lot of gratitude. I want to express my sincere thanks to the China Aerospace Network for providing the opportunity to write a letter to the astronauts far away in space," said Tsering.

In his letter, Tsering shared stories about listening to his grandfather tell Tibetan tales of the starry sky when he was a child, his dreams of learning about the sky through photography, and his experiences of moving from Tibet to Beijing to pursue better learning opportunities.

"The starry sky has always been a dreamy and wonderful realm for me. In my hometown of Tibet, there are many legends about the starry sky," he said.

In his letter, Tsering expressed his strong interest and yearning for the starry sky. He noted that in 2021, he moved from Tibet, the place on Earth closest to the sky, to study in Beijing, the place closest to the heart of China's aerospace industry.

He said by studying in Beijing, he has been able to make many new friends who also love aerospace. On the other hand, he has encountered some troubles and confusion while studying in a new environment.

The Shenzhou XV mission commander Major General Fei Junlong is the astronaut who replied to Tsering's letter.

In his response, Fei offered words of encouragement to Tsering by sharing his own experiences.

"From space, we can see the vast plateau covered in snow all year round and the mountains looming faintly. I guess that's your hometown of Tibet, right?" noted Fei in his letter.

"As you wrote in your letter, the road to success is never smooth, and only by continuously working hard can dreams eventually come true," Fei wrote.

Fei encouraged Tsering and his classmates to become masters of whatever skill and field they pursue in the future, and he ended the letter by wishing success to Tsering and his classmates in their studies.

Tsering said as far as he knows, despite China's aerospace industry still facing some difficulties and setbacks, it maintains a leading position in the global aerospace industry.

"I've always been interested in the universe and space, but my interest in these areas is only at the level of a hobby," he said.

Tsering, who did his kindergarten and primary schooling in Lhasa, the capital city of the Tibet autonomous region, said he was quite satisfied with the teaching quality and conditions of the schools there.

After I moved to inland cities to continue my elementary education, I found a certain gap in terms of teaching quality between the schools in Tibet and inland areas. However, the gap is narrowing every year, he said.

"Every year, when I go home, I visit my alma mater. I can see changes almost every time, which I hope will continue to be the case," he said.

While undertaking his elementary education in his hometown, he was working hard to fulfill his dream of doing part of his education in an inland city because, in his eyes, studying in an inland city means better education, broader horizons, and more exploration of one's potential.

"Studying at Beijing No 80 High School was my dream, and I'm now living it," he said. Besides his school curricula, he enjoys photography, poetry, and music. He said he likes the school environment in Beijing and often chats with his classmates about topics such as information technology, music, and art.

"I think leaving home and studying in a new place can help us mature more as a person. We can improve our skills in things like communication, self-care, and self-control," he said.

"I think my biggest gain is a higher level of independent thinking, which I believe is very important for facing many things in life," he added.

Regarding the inheritance of Tibetan language and culture, Tsering said he and his Tibetan schoolmates run cultural activities regularly during their leisure time. These have included activities on Tibetan calligraphy, dancing and books, as well as the holding of a Tibetan cultural festival.

Tsering is now studying hard. He said during the coming summer holiday he plans to spend more time on his studies to make up for lost opportunities caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"My current dream is to learn computer science at Tsinghua University," said Tsering.

Reporter: Daqiong and Palden Nyima