(XINHUA)

Chinese icebreaker Xue Long, or Snow Dragon, returns to its mooring in Shanghai on April 9, concluding China's 29th Antarctic expedition.

The research vessel left the southern port city of Guangzhou on November 5 last year for Antarctica. It covered 29,000 nautical miles over its 156-day voyage, among which 6,000 nautical miles were in ice regions. Scientists on board completed 53 tasks.

China launched its first expedition to the Antarctic in 1984 and has established the Changcheng, Zhongshan and Kunlun stations.