China successfully launched a Long March 2C rocket Sunday, orbiting a pair of engineering research satellites to test new technologies in space, according to state-run media reports.

The Long March 2C launcher lifted off at 0325 GMT Sunday (11:25 p.m. EDT Saturday) from the Taiyuan space center in northern China's Shanxi province, a remote site about 265 miles southwest of Beijing.

Launch occurred at 11:25 a.m. Beijing time.

The state-run Xinhua news agency reported the launch was successful. China did not announce plans for the launch in advance.

The Long March 2C booster was carrying two Shijian 9 demonstration satellites, state media reported. The rocket reached a near-polar orbit, according to U.S. military tracking data.

Official Chinese reports did not identify what specific components the Shijian 9 satellites would test in orbit, but state media said the mission would focus on satellite reliability demonstrations and validating high-performance Chinese-made technologies.

Shijian means "practice" in Chinese.

Sunday's launch marked China's 14th space launch of 2012 and the 56th mission to reach orbit worldwide this year.