Shenzhou VIII, a spaceship launched on Tuesday, linked with the Tiangong I module in the early hours of Thursday, an exercise carried out live on state television.
The country's first space docking, an essential step in building a space station is planned for next year when two unmanned space modules, Tiangong I and Shenzhou VIII, are launched.
The maneuver will help China master docking techniques needed for the construction of a space station, likely to be achieved initially by joining one Shenzhou orbiter to another.