SOCIETY

<正>Antarctic Airplane Researchers pose for a group photo with China’s first polar airplane,the Snow Eagle 601,after a successful trial flight at the Zhongshan Station,a Chinese scientific research base in Antarctica,on December 7.It is the first time that China has deployed a fixed-wing aircraft in a scientific expedition to Antarctica.The aircraft will serve as a transport link between the Zhongshan and Kunlun stations of China and the nearby stations of other     

Long-Term Hopes Remain Strong

As the novel coronavirus disease(COVID-19)has spread beyond China to all continents except Antarctica,it will inevitably impact the Asia-Pacific economy in the short term.But from the medium and longterm perspective,there is no need to be overly pessimistic.     

SOCIETY

<正>Antarctic Expedition A bird’s eye view of China’s icebreaking research vessel Xue Long(Snow Dragon),carrying the 33rd Chinese Antarctic expedition team,on February 14.The team has found a new site in the Ross Sea for the country’s fifth research station in Antarctica.     

THIS WEEK

BACK HOME Chinese icebreaker Xue Long, or Snow Dragon, returns to its mooring in Shanghai on April 9, concluding China’s 29th Antarctic expedition. The research vessel left the southern port city of Guangzhou on November 5 last year for Antarctica. It covered 29,000 nautical miles over its 156-day voyage, among which 6,000 nautical miles were in ice regions. Scientists on board completed 53 tasks. China launched its first expedition to the Antarctic in 1984     

SUCCESSFUL LANDING

<正>Crewmembers of China’s first polar fixed-wing aircraft,Xueying 601(below),pose with staff members at Kunlun Station,one of the nation’s scientific research bases in Antarctica,on January 8 after a landmark flight.The plane took off from China’s Zhongshan Station and covered the 1,316 km to Kunlun Station in 4     

ICEBREAKING MISSION

正Vehicles carrying members of China’s 35th Antarctic research mission on their way to the Zhongshan Station, a Chinese research base in Antarctica, on February 8.The scientists, including 21 from the Taishan team and 16 from the Kunlun team, have successfully completed their research tasks. The Taishan team completed construction of the supporting facilities     

Lessons from Antarctica

AFTER a lifetime of work in a profession that entails making the right acquaintances in the right places, I’d racked up my fair share of frequent flier miles to just about every continent. Not a single one, however, was courtesy of Antarctica. In fact, it wasn’t until a five-year posting during the 1970s to China’s Permanent Mission Office to the United Nations that I first learned about the continent. It was at meetings of the UN Seabed Committee that I made     

THIS WEEK

<正>SCIENCE EXPEDITION Members of Antarctic expedition form the number 34 on the helicopter deck of the research icebreaker Xue Long during a ceremony to celebrate the ship crossing the equator on November 15.The vessel set sail from Shanghai on November 8 to undertake the nation’s 34th Antarctic expedition,scheduled to last as long as 164 days.Scientists will carry out 19 research tasks during the expedition and make preparations for building China’s fifth scientific research station in Antarctica.     

Hello Antarctica

China has made 25 expeditions to the Antarctic over a quarter century Exactly 17,501.949 km-that's the distance from Beijing to Changcheng (lit-erally meaning the Great Wall) Station,the first little piece of China on the continent of Antarctica. Twenty-five years ago, when the country was conceiving its first journey to the South Pole, that distance meant nothing     

Polar Push

China's 24th expedition to Antarctica braved the risk of pirate attack on its mission to the pole"I wish I could have a more relaxing time to appreciate the scenery as the sea is so quiet and beautiful, but I have to stand guard for pirates who are often seen around the equator,"said Cao Shuowei on his travel log on November 20.Cao is a member of China's 24th Antarctic expedition that kicked off a week ago from Shanghai. The red exploration ship Xue Long,or Snow Dragon,carrying 91 members of the 188-strong expedition team and 40 crew members,left Waigaoqiao Dock in Shanghai on November 12.The rest of the explorers will arrive in Antarctica by air.