Photo provided to China Daily

As well as problems with the weather, the climbers struggled on a diet of buttered bread and the local corn soup, which is very salty. The climbers put up with the soup at first but eventually it made them sick.

However, despite the difficulties, the team made it Horombo Hut at a height of 3,720 meters and reached Kibo Hut at 4,700 meters on Feb 8. The attempt on the summit was made the following morning.

The day the team returned to Moshi happened to be Dong's birthday. The team bought a small cake to celebrate his 53rd year, the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Sino-Tanzanian diplomatic ties and, most importantly, their successful climb. After his colleagues sang Happy Birthday, Dong blew out the candles and made a solemn wish that he could guide his mountaineering team to become the first college group to fulfill the "7+2" challenge, which is a series of extreme expeditions involving conquering the seven summits along the north-south axis. Only 12 people have ever achieved this.

Lyu Youqing, the Chinese ambassador to Tanzania, met the team at the embassy in Dar es Salaam to congratulate them on their success. Sanga, the leader of the Tanzanian climbers and a former ambassador to China, expressed his delight at being a member of the mountaineering team.

Zeng Yan contributed to this story.