Solar-powered plane flies from Myanmar to China on historic round the-world flight

A groundbreaking solar-powered plane has successfully flown from Myanmar to central China as part of an historic round-the-world journey.

The organizers of the Solar Impulse 2 flight wrote in a statement that the plane landed in Chongqing, China, at 1:35 a.m. Tuesday, after leaving Mandalay, Myanmar, more than 20 hours earlier.

Two Swiss pilots are flying the state-of-the-art plane, which is powered by more than 17,000 solar cells on its wings. They are attempting the first ever round-the-world flight by a solar-powered plane to promote renewable energy use.

The Solar Impulse 2 started its journey from Abu Dhabi on March 9 and made four stops before arriving in China. It flies next to the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing before heading to Hawaii on its five-month trip.