The first ethnic Chinese to sail around the globe alone arrived in Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour on his sloop "Albatross" yesterday to a warm welcome from the Hong Kong media.

Shaun Yixuan Weng, a Beijing-born Chinese American, is on his way to take part in a project to mark the 600th anniversary of the sea voyage to the West by Chinese navigator and diplomat Zheng He (1371-1435) of the Ming Dynasty.

The eight-month event, to start on July 13, is co-organized by Phoenix Satellite Television and the State Council Press Office.

On December 14, 1998, Weng left San Francisco on "Albatross" for his solo circumnavigation of the world that took him three and a half years to complete.

He arrived in Wellington, New Zealand, on April 9, 2002 after sailing across three oceans, passing four continents and 26 countries. The feat made him the first ethnic Chinese to sail solo around the world.

"That's really a challenge for me," Weng said when asked by reporters about the experience.

Weng's original plan was to sail back to China from New Zealand after repairing the "Albatross" on November 2, 2002. He stopped at Malaysia before arriving in Hong Kong.

Born in Beijing in 1965, Weng entered Harbin Technology University in 1978 to study computer science before he went abroad for the same course at the University of Texas in 1985.

In spite of being in the computer software development business for 13 years, Weng never gave up on his ocean dream. "Never did a Chinese sail globally alone. I want to be the first one," he told the mainland media.

Weng will leave for the mainland next week.

(HK Edition 05/22/2004 page3)