Shenzhou-7 entered the Earth's orbit 20 minutes after blastoff, at 9:10 a.m. local time (13:10 GMT).
During the three-day mission, the crew will orbit the Earth at a maximum altitude of 343 km (213 miles), and on Saturday one of the astronauts will make China's debut spacewalk, scheduled to last around 20 minutes.
The astronauts' spacesuits were developed using Russian technology, and Russian experts were expected to monitor the suits throughout the mission.
China, which has recently unveiled comprehensive space exploration plans, is only one of three countries in the world capable of independently launching manned spaceflights, along with the United States and Russia.
In 2003 and 2005 the Shenzhou-5 and Shenzhou-6 spacecraft each carried three Chinese astronauts into space.
The country plans to build its own orbital space station and create a space laboratory before 2020.
