The world's third active human orbital spaceflight program is forging ahead steadily with its achievements in orbit, but it still has a fair way to go with its marketing. Put simply, you can't really supplement your Christmas shopping with much Shenzhou gear.

On a recent visit to Hong Kong, your correspondent scoured museums and shops for Shenzhou-related items. Despite the enthusiastic response that Hong Kong has provided to China's three astronauts, there is only a relatively modest collection of collectable items for the Shenzhou program.

Shenzhou promotions seem to mimic the staid, formal approach of celebrating an historic national event. Stamps and coins are the principal items created for Shenzhou 5 and 6, but you will need to look fairly hard to get them.

They're not even on display in post offices. Small models of the spacecraft are sold, but these are mostly metal desktop models instead of model kits. A small number of lapel pins seem to have been issued, but they are scarce. Elsewhere, you can find some Chinese-made do-it-yourself kits of Shenzhou and its launcher, but your correspondent hasn't been generally impressed with them.

The most expensive Shenzhou-related item seems to be a facsimile of the watch worn by Yang Liwei on his historic mission. It's a handsome analogue sports-style watch, apparently issued by the Chinese military. At the other end of the scale, your correspondent spotted a cheap plastic satellite toy, which an enterprising toymaker had promptly (and probably unofficially) added the title "Shenzhou 6".

In the middle of the spectrum, a few tens of dollars will get you a nice model of the Long March 2F rocket, complete with detailing, that looks acceptable in an office. Metallic copies of this, possibly gold-plated, look impressive but aren't as instructive as technical replicas. But they do have the advantage of provoking interesting reactions from airport customs officials, as they show up as pointed metal objects in X-ray luggage scans.

You can always drink like Yang Liwei. Convenience stores in Hong Kong still market a brand of long-life milk in small containers with straws attached. A logo on the side of the container states that it is special milk for China's astronauts. The taste is, well, fairly average.

So a few items are certainly available, but China still has yet to issue a broad spectrum of products. There are obvious markets for mission patches or the blue flightsuits worn by the astronauts, yet these products do not seem to be available to the public.

Books, videos and other items could also be more commonplace, despite the fact that the Shenzhou 6 crew appeared extensively in Hong Kong's media during their flight, and their subsequent visit to the territory. If China wants to help recoup the cost of developing the program, some better licensing arrangements are certainly called for.

This is one of the obstacles China needs to overcome if the Shenzhou program is to realize its true potential, and the full appreciation it deserves. Will China respond to this challenge?

Related Links
SpaceDaily
Search SpaceDaily
Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express