Guo Chuan to embark on maritime silk road voyage

Guo Chuan will set sail again in mid-October to explore the maritiem silk road after having completed a record-setting passage in the Artic Ocean with his international crew.

Guo, 50, returned to Qingdao on Sunday after a non-stop 24-day trip on the sea. He and his crew including two Frenchmen, a German and a Russian set off on September 3 in the Russian city of Murmansk, and completed the North-East passage in the Arctic Ocean 12 days later.

They then used another 12 days to reach Qingdao, where they were given a hero welcome.

"It is an amazing feeling to come back to civilization," said Guo. "Over the past 24 days, we sailed lonely accompanied by heavy fog, frozen cold, iceberg and floating ice with no human traces."

"I am happy to back on the land where the life is real. I need some good sleep as we did not rest well during the trip," he said.

But he will have little time to recover. The reknown Chinese sailer, who has single-handedly sailed around the world non-stop, is scheduled to embark on the maritime silk road voyage in mid-October.

"My adventure does not end here, and my dream will continue, I look forward to the maritime silk road trip very much," he said.

According to his plan, Guo will visit Hong Kong, Singapore, Colombo of Sri Lanka, Bombay, Alexander of Egypt, Southampton of Britain and Rotterdam. The voyage is expected to last 60 days. Endi