An unmanned Chinese spacecraft has returned to Earth after two weeks in space.

The Shenzhou-8 spacecraft landed by parachute in northern China's Inner Mongolia region late Thursday evening.

While in orbit, the spacecraft docked twice with China's miniature space laboratory the Tiangong-1.

China plans two more docking missions with the module next year, with at least one of them carrying a live crew that could include China's first female astronaut.

China aims to establish a manned space station by 2020.