SHENYANG -- Chinese navy vessel "Qijiguang" returned to the port city of Dalian in Northeast China's Liaoning province Saturday after a 41-day training voyage.

The vessel, with 476 navy cadets and officers on board, has sailed more than 8,500 nautical miles since it set off on May 15 and visited Vietnam, Thailand, Brunei, and the Philippines, according to the navy sources.

Besides finishing a series of training programs, the vessel held joint exercises with navy vessels from Vietnam, Brunei, and the Philippines, and received more than 6,000 visitors during the voyage, the sources said.

The "Qijiguang" is a naval training ship named after Qi Jiguang, a Chinese hero best known for leading Ming forces to defend China's eastern coastal regions from raids by Japanese pirates in the 16th century.