China's second Arctic expedition has successfully returned from the Arctic region and arrived in Shanghai Friday morning.

The successful return marks China's more advanced technology in arctic expeditions, said Chen Lianzeng, deputy director of National Bureau of Oceanography, at the welcome reception.

The team left Shanghai on July 10 aboard the scientific ship Xuelong, or Snow-Dragon, for the Arctic, where they sailed 13,985 nautical miles and conduct oceanic and meteorological research.

They have achieved progress in probing reactions of the Arctic region to global climatic changes and its impact in return on those changes, and analyzing Arctic influences on weather in the Chinese territory, said scientists.

The team set up China's northernmost observing station where they conducted a two-week research stretching 250 km. Xuelong made China's breakthrough by successfully navigating into the zone within 80 degrees northern latitude.

(Xinhua News Agency September 27, 2003)