China's icebreaker Xuelong, or "Snow Dragon," is set to kick off the country's fifth Arctic expedition from the port city of Qingdao, Shandong province, on July 2, according to a news conference held Tuesday.

The research vessel, an A2-class icebreaker capable of breaking ice 1.2 meters thick, will leave its Shanghai base Wednesday for Qingdao, and be berthed there for four days before its journey to the Arctic, said a spokesman with the Qingdao municipal government at the news conference.

It is estimated to travel over 17,000 nautical miles during its 90-day voyage and scheduled to return to Shanghai on Sept. 29.

A 120-member team will undertake the expedition, including researchers, coordinators, support staff, reporters and the crew of the icebreaker, as well as four scientists from France, Denmark and Iceland and another from Taiwan.

Researchers plan to conduct various scientific research tasks during the expedition, including surveys on the arctic oceanic environment, ecosystem and geophysical field.

In early April, the icebreaker completed the country's 28th Antarctic expedition after covering 28,000 nautical miles over the 163-day course.