European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti is back on Earth after spending the last five and a half months in orbit on the International Space Station. The Italian picked up a lot of attention in China this last week after she quoted some classic Chinese poetry on social media with a view of the Chinese capital from space.

Whizzing around the Earth at around 28,000 kilometers per hour, 420 kilometers off the ground in the International Space Station (ISS), certainly gives one a unique perspective on our planet.

That view inspired Cristoforetti to dive into the Chinese classics as the ISS flew over parts of China this week. She quoted 4th-century poet Wang Xizhi's Preface to Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion:

The text was accompanied by photos of China taken from the space station, and the tweet was even raised in a press briefing by the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning.

"I have read about it too and the Italian astronaut certainly has my liking. Exploring the universe has been mankind's dream since ancient times. Thanks to scientific and technological progress, reaching beyond the moon has become a reality. Humanity will continue to benefit from the noble endeavor of exploration and peaceful use of space."

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Cristoforetti has been praised for her Chinese language skills. The Italian speaks half a dozen languages and has previously taken part in joint training between the ESA and the China Manned Space Agency.

Her return spacecraft splashed down off the coast of the U.S. state of Florida. After a medical check, she was flown to a military base in Germany, where CGTN Europe asked why she chose that particular poem and if she was aware of the attention it had gained.

"I wish I could take credit for that," she smiled. "I have a good friend, an Italian who has lived in China for 30 years – a sinologist, very very knowledgeable on Chinese literature. 

"He suggested that to me, and it sounded like a good excerpt. So unfortunately, I cannot take credit for choosing it – but only for choosing a smart friend."

Space-based cooperation

It is hoped that ESA astronauts will team up with their Chinese counterparts for joint missions at some point in the future. With Cristoforetti having laid some groundwork for that, ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher was full of praise for his returning astronaut – and positive about the unifying spirit of space exploration.

"She is speaking very well in Chinese, and this tweet has shown that she can do this very well," he told CGTN. "Space is international. There is no way to put a boundary in space – because the space station, the satellites, they fly around the earth, they cross boundaries, they cross cultures, they cross religions and different divides in terms of philosophy and history. 

"I think this is something that we should always be reminded: that space is above everything, literally."

While there may be many problems between nations here on Earth, in space, cooperation is strong.