Photo shows the "Snow Dragon" ship navigating into the North Pole gate. [Photo: zjol.com.cn]

The seventh Arctic Scientific Expedition in China has finished its 78-day task, with the team members arriving back in Shanghai on the "Snow Dragon" polar expedition ship.

The mission was joined by many marine scientists from the Second Ocean Research Institute of the State Oceanic Administration, based in Hangzhou.

Liu Chenggang is one of the scientists who took part. His expedition reached the North and South Poles, searching the ocean to a depth of 5,000 meters using the "Dragon" submarine.

Over the Summer, on his first expedition to the North Pole, he took hundreds of photos which give us a glimpse of how spectacular the North Pole is, and tells some of the stories of the team members.

The expedition got underway on July 11, 2016 and covered 13,000 nautical miles (24,076 kilometers). The expedition reached 82 degrees 52 minutes 59 seconds north.