China's Shenzhou 9 spacecraft has returned to Earth, bringing to a close a mission which saw the country's first woman in space.

The crew also completed China's first manned space docking test, crucial if the government's plans to deploy an orbiting space station in the next decade are to be realised.

The spacecraft's gumdrop-shaped return capsule descended to Earth by parachute and touched down shortly after 3am in China's northwestern Inner Mongolia region.

Its three-member crew, including female astronaut Liu Yang, were all safe and well.