Qingdao, led by German Skipper Chris Kobusch, ended third place in Race 7 to Sanya of the Clipper 2017-18 Round the World Yacht Race. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Despite the late hour in Sanya, a big crowd cheered Qingdao into the Sanya Serenity Coast Marina, with the team escorted by a lion dancer to the stage in the Clipper Race Village.

One of the two Qingdao Ambassadors on board, E Xianghong said of the experience: "It's amazing, what a fantastic welcome. I am very happy about the podium finish. It's just like a dream. It's my first time sailing for such a long time; 30 days to my home country. Thank you for all my friends that have come to Sanya to see me."

Ji GaoShang, General Director of Qingdao Municipal Sport Bureau from Qingdao Major International Sailing Events (Festivals) Organizing Committee, congratulated the Qingdao team and said: "A new picture for a new year with celebration for the Chinese New Year of Dog still ongoing, we would like to congratulate Qingdao team and Skipper Chris on finishing this race in third place. We hope that Qingdao team can keep up the good state in the next race from Sanya to Qingdao, and finish it with a greater success. China's Sailing City-Qingdao welcomes Qingdao Team to come home in March."

This is the second podium for Qingdao, who finished third in Race 4 from Fremantle to Sydney in Australia. The team went into Race 7: The Forever Tropical Paradise Race to Sanya in second place in the overall standings and just two points off leader Sanya Serenity Coast.