KAOHSIUNG, April 4 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese mainland's Antarctic exploration vessel, "Snow Dragon," left Kaohsiung port in southern Taiwan Saturday after a three-day stay on its route back to home.

    The Snow Dragon (Xuelong in Chinese) arrived at Kaohsiung Port Wednesday at the invitation of the "National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium," the "National Sun Yat-sen University" and the Cheng Shiu University for cross-Strait polar research exchanges.

    In the past couple of days, more than 2,000 local visitors boarded on the scientific research vessel, the only ice-breaker of the mainland which has already carried out a dozen of trips to Antarctica since 1994.

    The researchers on the Snow Dragon also went to the Pingtung-based "National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium" to discuss possibility of deepening academic cooperation and exchange with their Taiwan counterparts.

    Carrying 140 crews including scientists, technicians and sailors, the Snow Dragon left Shanghai in October for a 173-day trip, the longest in China's polar expedition history, and is expected to return to Shanghai on April 10.

    The expedition team has fulfilled the task of erecting a new research station at Dome Argus (Dome A), the pole's highest icecap at 4,093 meters above the sea level.

    They left China's Zhongshan Station for home on March 9. The vessel left Australia's Port of Fremantle on March 22 where it was refueled.