MOSCOW -- The just completed docking mission of China's unmanned Shenzhou-8 spacecraft to the orbiting Tiangong-1 space lab module was a breakthrough for the country, a prominent Russian space expert said Thursday.

Igor Lisov said the successful mission manifested a certain level of China's technological development.

"Unlike Russia or the United States with their sometimes painful way to the stars, China climbs up on the ladder more rapidly, sometimes leaps over a few steps at once," Lisov said during an interview with Xinhua.

"China has reached the stage when it was ready to build an orbital station only after three manned space flights," he added.

The expert believed China would contribute more to mankind's space explorations.

"China's Tiangong-Shenzhou program has been conducted in both literal and metaphorical sense," Lisov said.

The commander-in-chief of China's manned space program, Chang Wanquan, said Thursday that the nation's first-ever space rendezvous and docking mission was a complete success.

The Shenzhou-8 spacecraft landed by parachute Thursday evening in China's northern grasslands.

Shenzhou-8, which blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on Nov. 1, successfully docked twice with the orbiting module that had been launched from the same site on Sept. 29.