Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng has left China on a flight to the United States according to news reports.
The blind activist was taken to Beijing airport along with his wife and two children and boarded a flight to Newark, New Jersey.
"Thousands of thoughts are surging to my mind," Mr Chen told the Associated Press news agency from the terminal.
Mr Chen fled house arrest in a daring night time escape and sought refuge in the US embassy in Beijing.
Six days after his escape he agreed to leave the embassy after his family and associates were beaten and abused by state officials.
After intense diplomatic negotiations China said it would allow Cheng to leave the country.
Chen earlier told Reuters by telephone:
"I'm at the airport now. I've already left the hospital. But there are many things that are still unclear.
"Yes, I might be heading for a flight to the United States, but I haven't been told, and I haven't received our passports, so I'm not sure yet. We're waiting to find out what's happening."
But Nicholas Bequelin of Human Rights Watch said his family and friends were still under pressure by the Chinese government.
"This is a reflection of the fact that there is no room for human rights defenders in China. We don't know if this will turn into a temporary stay or exile, but in either case, it begs the questions why someone like Chen Guangcheng cannot freely operate in China. What is it that stops the authorities from tolerating or even embracing someone like Chen?"
