Pre-race outsiders Dongfeng Race Team scooped a landmark win on the third leg of the Volvo Ocean Race on Tuesday and took the overall lead in the nine-month, round-the-world marathon.
No Chinese team has won a stage in the 41-year history of offshore sailing's leading event despite two previous entries in 2008-09 and 2011-12 but Dongfeng are already showing they are serious contenders to take the entire event.
They finished narrow runners-up behind Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing and Team Brunel respectively in the opening two legs of a race that began in October 2014 with all three teams locked on four points as joint leaders before the third leg.
Dongfeng's emphatic 45-nautical mile victory over second-placed Abu Dhabi on the 23-day leg from the United Arab Emirates to Sanya has now arguably made them favourites to claim the entire competition when it concludes in Gothenburg, Sweden on June 27.
In all, the route covers 38,739nm, visits 11 ports and every continent.
The third stage, which took the fleet through the Gulf, the Bay of Bombay, the Malacca Strait and finally the South China Sea, is one of the toughest in the event as it routes through some of the world's busiest shipping lanes as well as some of most polluted.
It meant that French skipper Charles Caudrelier and his crew had to concentrate for every minute despite grabbing a second-day lead which they never seriously looked like relinquishing.
"It's the most stressful leg I've ever done in my life," a relieved Caudrelier told reporters, soon after crossing the line at 07:31 local time (2331 GMT).
"But the result is fantastic!"
Abu Dhabi, led by Great Britain's twice Olympic silver medallist Ian Walker, denied Team Alvimedica second spot but the Turkish/American boat still claimed their first podium finish later on Tuesday with third.
MAPFRE (Spain) edged out Team Brunel (Netherlands) by a matter of minutes for fourth.
That left Team SCA's all-women crew to complete the finishers later on Tuesday evening. At midday local time (0400 GMT), they had just over 100nm to sail.
The boats will now have a two-week maintenance period in Sanya before setting off on the 5,624nm journey to Auckland, New Zealand, from February 8.