'Zheng He' ship enters southern hemisphere

With a long whistle, the "Zheng He" oceangoing training ship of the Navy of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) which is on the "Harmonious Mission – the Global Voyage" crossed the equator, the dividing line of the northern and southern hemispheres, at a speed of 17 knots at 17:36 on July 11, 2012, local time (06:36 on July 12, 2012, Beijing time), and entered the southern hemisphere from the northern hemisphere for the first time.

According to its visiting and oceangoing training plan for the "Harmonious Mission - the Global Voyage", the "Zheng He" ship's current travelling distance and time already exceeded half of its planed total distance and time respectively.

Since its departure from Dalian in northeast China's Liaoning province on April 16, 2012, the "Zheng He" ship has successively passed through the Singapore Strait, the Strait of Malacca, the Strait of Gibraltar, the Suez Canal and the Panama Canal, completed its voyages across the Indian Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, and successively visited or docked at the port cities of 8 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and America including Ho Chi Minh City of Vietnam, Klang of Malaysia, Cochin of India, Djibouti city of Djibouti, Taranto of Italy, Cadiz of Spain, Halifax of Canada and Kingston of Jamaica, which covered a travelling distance of more than 17,000 nautical miles.

A total of 11 foreign naval cadets including 2 females from 6 countries, namely Pakistan, Bangladesh, South Korea, India, the United States and Canada, were with the ship for practice and training.