**:Xinhua.
Qinling Station, Antarctica, March 7 (Xinhua) -- On March 7, Beijing time, the "Snow Dragon 2", which carried out China's 40th Antarctic expedition, picked up the expedition team members at Qinling Station in Antarctica and set off for China.
The "Snow Dragon 2" arrived at Qinling Station in Antarctica on the 6th, which was the third time that the voyage stopped at this station. During the docking period, 69 expedition members boarded the ship in batches. Next, the "Snow Dragon 2" will stop in Newcastle, Australia, where some of the crew members will disembark and take an international flight back home. The "Snow Dragon 2" is expected to arrive in Shanghai in mid-April.
During this expedition, the "Snow Dragon 2" has sailed 2More than 50,000 nautical miles, 7 times through the westerly wind belt, successfully completed the construction support task of Qinling Station, carried out the Amundsen Sea ocean survey, held a public open day in Lyttelton Port, New Zealand, and successfully rescued a ship in distress and 4 crew members near the equator. In addition, the "Snow Dragon 2" also actively carried out international cooperation and helped transport 23 South Korean expedition members from Jang Baogao Station in South Korea to Lyttelton Port.
China's 40th Antarctic expedition was organized by the Ministry of Natural Resources. The expedition team consisted of more than 460 people from more than 80 units in China, and set off from China on November 1, 2023 aboard the "Snow Dragon" and "Snow Dragon 2". The "Snow Dragon" has left Zhongshan Station in Antarctica a few days ago and began to return home.