Li Qinglong was born in Dingyuan, Anhui province, China.

[2] Along with the 12 candidates selected in 1998, they formed Group 1 of the People's Liberation Army Astronaut Corps.

[4] In January 2003 it was reported by a Hong Kong newspaper that Chen Long would make the first manned Shenzhou flight.

Then in March 2003, it was reported that Li Qinglong would make the first manned flight.

It was thought that "Chen Long" was a misspelling of "Qinglong", a fact confirmed by the newspaper a couple of days before the launch of Shenzhou 5, which was flown by Yang Liwei.