China's 26th Antarctic expedition team Saturday morning left New Zealand's coastal city Christchurch for the Antarctica on board the icebreaker "Xuelong", or Snow Dragon.

The vessel arrived at the port on Thursday, where it took 720 tons of fuels, over 200 tons of fresh water and 5 tons of vegetables before setting sail to its final destination.

The crew carried out maintenance work at the port to ensure all the equipments and navigational aids function well in the upcoming journey.

"We will make a full-speed dash southward to cross the stormy westerlies on our way toward the Antarctic," said Wang Jianzhong, captain of the vessel.

He said the vessel would face critical sea condition Tuesday and Wednesday. "If everything goes well, the vessel is expected to arrive at China's Great Wall station before Nov. 15," Wang said.

(Xinhua News Agency October 31, 2009)