A SHENZHEN man returned home Sunday from the North Pole, where his team claiming second place in one of the world's toughest races.

Zhang Liang, a veteran mountaineer, became the first Chinese to win a silver medal in the 2008 Polar Challenge, a race covering 650 kilometers of frozen land.

"It was even harder than climbing Mount Qomolangma," recalled Zhang, who was welcomed back by friends and family members. "I had to carry a backpack weighing more than 100 kilograms, and covered around 40 kilometers each day."

The Polar Challenge is a competitive 650-kilometer team race taking place in the Arctic. The race is held between mid-April and mid-May each year, taking teams approximately four weeks to complete, including training time.

The race takes place in one of the world's most extreme and hostile environments, with temperatures dropping as low as minus 50 degrees Celsius, and where 80 percent of the world's population of polar bears live.

(Mu Zi)