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China Arctic/Antarctic Science, Technology and Industry: News & Discussions

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China's Yellow River Station in the Arctic. The only one.

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Capacity: 20-25人

Built: 2014.
 
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32 to trips to Antarctic and only 7 to the Arctic. I thought Xuelong was only for Arctic missions. Now that it is being dispatched to the Antarctic, this means the 7th voyage to the Arctic (set out in August) has already been completed.

Four stations in the Antarctica while just one in the Arctic.

I believe China should pay more attention to the Arctic because it is, in my opinion, a more strategically significant region beyond scientific research.

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China to embark on 33rd Antarctic expedition
Source: Xinhua 2016-10-28


SHANGHAI, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- Chinese research vessel and icebreaker, Xuelong (Snow Dragon), is scheduled to depart from Shanghai Wednesday on the country's 33rd scientific expedition to Antarctica.

Sun Bo, deputy director of the Polar Research Institute of China, made the announcement Friday at a press conference.

A team of 256 will set out on Nov. 2 for a 161-day trip of 31,000 nautical miles, according to Sun, who will lead the team.

They will visit the Zhongshan, Kunlun, Taishan and Changcheng stations and perform various research tasks. The team is scheduled to return to Shanghai on April 11 next year.

The expedition has a list of 72 tasks to perform including preliminary site selection for China's new base on the Ross Sea and work on fixed-wing aircraft.

Sun defined the trip as an "expedition of the brave" which will show the country's strength and enthusiasm for discovery.

The team will carry out observations in the Princess Elizabeth Area to explore subglacial lakes and rifts. They will drill ice cores hoping to examine the changes of the world's environment over the past 50,000 years.

They will also conduct astronomical observations at the Kunlun station, Sun said.

Xuelong will arrive at the Zhongshan station in eastern Antarctica in early December. After unloading at Zhongshan, Kunlun, and Taishan stations, the ship will go on to resupply in Chile.

In late January it will survey the Ross Sea and return to the Zhongshan station in late February, departing in early March to return home.

China made its first expedition to the Antarctic in 1984 and has four stations in Antarctica.
 
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China's aircraft Snow Eagle 601 arrives in Antarctica
(Xinhua) 10:44, November 12, 2016

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Scientists pose for a group photo in front of China's first fixed-wing aircraft for polar flight, Snow Eagle 601, after arriving at China's Zhongshan Station in Antarctica, Nov. 11, 2016. (Xinhua/Mu Lianqing)
 
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Xuelong is now on its 33rd Antarctic mission. The second icebreaker should come out any time soon, so that two expeditions at the same time could be launched.

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Chinese Arctic expedition team returns home

Source: Xinhua | 2016-09-26

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Students greet the Chinese Arctic expedition team in Shanghai, east China, Sept. 26, 2016. China's seventh Arctic expedition using the Chinese icebreaker Xuelong returned to its research base in Shanghai on Monday after a 78-day mission. (Xinhua/Zhang Jiansong)

SHANGHAI, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- China's seventh Arctic expedition using the Chinese icebreaker Xuelong returned to its research base in Shanghai on Monday after a 78-day mission.

Xuelong set out from Shanghai on July 11 and has since traveled 13,000 nautical miles to explore marine areas such as the Bering Sea, the Chukchi Sea and the Canada Basin.

The team traveled as far as 82.53 degrees north latitude, and for the first time explored the Mendeleev Ridge in the Arctic Ocean.

Scientists studied marine meteorology, geology and chemistry, and surveyed seven ice stations, while the expedition smoothly completed all its scheduled tasks, said Li Yuansheng, chief scientist on the expedition.

The expedition team laid several observation buoys in various seas and explored deep stratums by creating an artificial seismic wave.

Xuelong, or Snow Dragon, was equipped with two helicopters, research support and emergency equipment during the expedition. The Ukraine-built ship was first put into use in 1994 and can break ice that is 1.2 meters thick.

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A welcome ceremony is held to greet the Chinese Arctic expedition team in Shanghai, east China, Sept. 26, 2016. China's seventh Arctic expedition using the Chinese icebreaker Xuelong returned to its research base in Shanghai on Monday after a 78-day mission. (Xinhua/Zhang Jiansong)

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When is China's new ice breaker coming out?
 
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China and Iceland forge a shared future with Aurora Observatory
By Karen Graham 6 hours ago in World

In a remote valley in northern Iceland, close to the Arctic Circle, China and Iceland are constructing a research facility to study the Northern Lights, space weather, and other upper atmosphere phenomena.

The Aurora Observatory is a joint venture between Icelandic and Chinese research institutions. An agreement was signed on August 17, 2012, in Reykjavik, Iceland, with the Icelandic Centre for Research (RANNIS) signing on behalf of Iceland and the Polar Research Institute of China signing on behalf of Chinese scientists. It is expected that Chinese scientists and other international scientists conducting research will be staying at the facility for extended periods of time. The Aurora Observatory's observations are expected to add to the already existing aurora observations done in Iceland and internationally, says the Aurora Observatory website.


#Karholl​

CTV News notes that the structure going up in Karholl is a "concrete" achievement in the growing relationship between the Asian superpower and the tiny island nation. And it might seem like a strange relationship. Some may wonder why China, a country of 1.37 billion people would be interested in Iceland, with a population of 330,000. But there is a much bigger reason behind the joint-venture in building the observatory. China's ambitions in the Arctic As far back as 2010, when Linda Jakobson in her report for the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute discussed China's growing interest in the Arctic, there has been a great deal of speculation concerning China's ambitions in the North.


Karholl is in an isolated valley in the north of Iceland. Karholl​

Neither China or Japan have territorial access to the region, yet China has already started using the Northwest Passage as a shipping route to Europe. But there is much more at stake, and by joining in a cooperative friendship with Iceland, the two countries are in essence, rubbing each other's backs. Because of climate change, China needs an Arctic ally like Iceland who will side with them as new sea routes open up and perhaps more importantly, be open to allowing mineral and petroleum extraction in the Arctic. Iceland's reasons for the unlikely partnership Just like many other countries around the world have done, Iceland has grasped the hand of friendship that China has extended, knowing they will have a strong friend to depend on in times of economic stress.


Construction of the Aurora Observatory started in 2014 and is expected to be completed in early 2017. Karholl​

"It is better to be a friend to everyone when you are small than be an enemy to anybody," said Reinhard Reynisson, director of the nonprofit company building the Aurora Observatory, according to CNBC. Yes, Iceland may be a small country, but since it was settled by the Vikings in the 9th century, the island nation has weathered earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, famine, and financial meltdown. And that says a lot for the strength of the Icelandic people. This is why China's interest in their country has drawn suspicion among many Icelanders, leaving them to wonder what the superpower really wants — is it their land, or perhaps their fish or energy resources? "We are a very small country, we are only 300,000 people, so we don't look at our independence as an automatic thing," said Asgeir Jonsson, an economist at the University of Iceland, reports Phys.Org. "It's something that you have to protect and look after."


The south entrance to the observatory. Karholl​

But financial calamity forced the two countries to become friends after the global credit crunch hit in 2008. Iceland's banks collapsed, its currency dropped to nothing, unemployment was rampant, forcing Iceland to go to the International Monetary Fund and the European Union for bailouts. They also began actively looking for new economic partners to help in the bailout. China was the one to extend a helping hand. In 2010, the two countries agreed to currency swaps, and in 2013, they signed a free trade agreement, the first between China and a European country. These agreements have given China access to a number of important decision-making processes in the Arctic.

All in all, China has made a big move in taking Iceland under its wing, and we will certainly be hearing more from both countries in the near future.


China and Iceland forge a shared future with Aurora Observatory
 
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In a remote valley in northern Iceland, close to the Arctic Circle, China and Iceland are constructing a research facility to study the Northern Lights, space weather, and other upper atmosphere phenomena.

Great. The second Arctic station being built after the Yellow River station (also on a small island that belongs to Iceland) that is in place. Of course, since all Arctic land territory belongs to 5 Arctic Circle states, you need to establish bilateral cooperation with individual states.

This means China is dedicating greater resource to the Arctic.

Neither China or Japan have territorial access to the region, yet China has already started using the Northwest Passage as a shipping route to Europe.

Still very limited. I have data as to how frequent China has used the NSR over the past five years. Very limited.

"We are a very small country, we are only 300,000 people, so we don't look at our independence as an automatic thing,"

Groundless fear. China is probably the only emerging great power that would respect Iceland's sovereignty to the full extent, keeping itself away from the nation's internal affairs.

When is China's new ice breaker coming out?

I am really not sure. It has already been almost three years since the construction began. But, this will be the first indigenous icebreaker. The first one was purchased (refitted, improved) from Ukraine.

I wish to see China to build a nuclear icebreaker - the third one should be nuclear.
 
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China’s plan for the Arctic – and a shipping centre to rival Singapore
Beijing may be playing it cool, but it sees its current role in the contested High North as just the tip of the iceberg

By Ryan Kilpatrick
15 Nov 2016

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Chinese expendition team members aboard the polar research vessel Xue Long wave goodbye as they set sail from Shanghai. Photo: AFP

WASHED by the shallow waters of the Tumen River that divides Russia and North Korea, China’s Hunchun has few tourist attractions other than a coin-operated set of binoculars, on an elevated platform, that lets the occasional visitor survey the three neighbours’ only junction. But if business expands along Arctic shipping routes linking the Atlantic and Pacific, this obscure city of little more than 200,000 could become “an international shipping centre equal to Singapore”, Xinhua, China’s state-run news agency, claimed last year.

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China, having styled itself as a “near-Arctic nation”, is jockeying to play a greater role in the contested High North. Beijing attained permanent observer status to the intergovernmental Arctic Council in 2013, but experts say its ambitions are beyond those of a passive onlooker.

Chinese research ship Xue Long begins 7th Arctic expedition

In July, Chinese shipping giant Cosco announced plans to send more cargo vessels to the Arctic, where they will be guided by the first Northwest Passage Chinese-language guidebook, published by China’s Maritime Safety Administration in April. Also in July the polar research vessel Xue Long conducted its seventh Arctic expedition, and the country approved tenders for its first domestically produced icebreaker.

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Those developments came a month after a paper by the State Oceanic Administration referred to the Northwest Passage as a “northern link” in Xi Jinping’s ( 習近平 ) “One Belt, One Road” strategy, and complained that a negotiated settlement between Canada and the United States in their sovereignty dispute regarding the waterway would be unfair to China and other regional outsiders. Canada claims the passage as internal waters but the US views it as an international waterway.



-> China’s plan for the Arctic – and a shipping centre to rival Singapore | This Week In Asia | South China Morning Post
 
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Chinese icebreaker Xuelong on 33rd Antarctic expedition
(Xinhua) November 30, 2016




China's icebreaker Xuelong is seen in Antarctic ice zone, Nov. 29, 2016. Chinese research vessel and icebreaker Xuelong (Snow Dragon), which is on its 33rd Antarctic expedition, got held up in ice zone about 31 kilometers away from Zhongshan Station on Tuesday. Expedition team have started to explore the way on ice to find a safe way for unloading at Zhongshan. (Xinhua/Rong Qihan)



China's icebreaker Xuelong is blocked in Antarctic ice zone, Nov. 29, 2016. Chinese research vessel and icebreaker Xuelong (Snow Dragon), which is on its 33rd Antarctic expedition, got held up in ice zone about 31 kilometers away from Zhongshan Station on Tuesday. Expedition team have started to explore the way on ice to find a safe way for unloading at Zhongshan. (Xinhua/Rong Qihan)



A researcher of China's icebreaker Xuelong drills on Antarctic ice zone, Nov. 29, 2016. Chinese research vessel and icebreaker Xuelong (Snow Dragon), which is on its 33rd Antarctic expedition, got held up in ice zone about 31 kilometers away from Zhongshan Station on Tuesday. Expedition team have started to explore the way on ice to find a safe way for unloading at Zhongshan. (Xinhua/Rong Qihan)



China's icebreaker Xuelong is seen in Antarctic ice zone, Nov. 29, 2016. Chinese research vessel and icebreaker Xuelong (Snow Dragon), which is on its 33rd Antarctic expedition, got held up in ice zone about 31 kilometers away from Zhongshan Station on Tuesday. Expedition team have started to explore the way on ice to find a safe way for unloading at Zhongshan. (Xinhua/Rong Qihan)



Researchers of China's icebreaker Xuelong ride snowmobile to explore the way on Antarctic ice zone, Nov. 29, 2016. Chinese research vessel and icebreaker Xuelong (Snow Dragon), which is on its 33rd Antarctic expedition, got held up in ice zone about 31 kilometers away from Zhongshan Station on Tuesday. Expedition team have started to explore the way on ice to find a safe way for unloading at Zhongshan. (Xinhua/Rong Qihan)

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A researcher of China's icebreaker Xuelong records data on Antarctic ice zone, Nov. 29, 2016. Chinese research vessel and icebreaker Xuelong (Snow Dragon), which is on its 33rd Antarctic expedition, got held up in ice zone about 31 kilometers away from Zhongshan Station on Tuesday. Expedition team have started to explore the way on ice to find a safe way for unloading at Zhongshan. (Xinhua/Rong Qihan)

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I wonder what is the latest about the second polar ship now being developed.
 
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China to build Antarctic astronomical observatory
New China TV
Published on 3 Nov 2016

Four astronomers left on Wednesday for China's 33th Antarctic Expedition as part of the plan to build a South Pole Astronomical Observatory.

The astronomical research in Antarctica is expected to shine a light on the origin of cosmic objects, dark matter and extraterrestrial life.
 
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Antarctic Diary: Harboring at Zhongshan Station
Source: Xinhua | 2016-12-09 15:26:20 | Editor: huaxia

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The iceberg near the Zhongshan Station, in Antarctica. (Xinhua/Zhang Jiansong)

ZHONGSHAN STATION, Antarctica, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- Seen from the sky, the Zhongshan Station of China is an area easy to be distinguished from the rest of Antarctica: a red multi-functional building, a green hexagon building, and several oil tanks painted with Peking opera masks standing on an area of rocks and soil.

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Peking Opera facial makeups drawn on oil tanks at the Zhongshan Station. (Xinhua/Zhang Jiansong)

One month after departing from Shanghai, the 256 scientific research team members boarding China's icebreaking research vessel Xuelong are now harboring at the station.

Later, they will continue to visit Kunlun, Taishan and Changcheng stations, the other three Chinese research stations in Antarctica, and perform various research tasks, according to the plan of the country's 33rd Antarctic expedition. The team will also carry out environmental clean-up around the stations.

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The Zhongshan Station. (Xinhua/Zhang Jiansong)

Located on Larsemann Hills facing east Antarctica's Prydz Bay, the Zhongshan Station, built in February 1989, is the second Chinese research station on the land of ice and snow.

When entering the station, there are two things that you can't miss: a bucket of water and two shoe shiners. Why? Because researchers can easily muddy their shoes after treading on the soil and ice outside.


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The bucket and shoe shiners. (Xinhua/Rong Qihan)

After getting inside, researchers still can't just rush into the warm buildings, for they have to take off the coat and put on the slippers first. It's a necessary way to keep the station clean and tidy.

There are 17 buildings in the station, equipped with telecommunication facilities, apartments, and scientific labs.

Life in the station is not that dull. A ping-pong table gives researchers lots of pleasure. Wi-Fi is also available now.

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A winter living compound of the Zhongshan Station. (Xinhua/Zhang Jiansong)

The winter living compound is a place for them to chat and rest.

The garage houses a very important part of outdoor work: vehicles on belts. This kind of vehicle is preferred when traveling on snow and ice as the belts are safer, and can deal with extremely low temperatures and continuous winds.

Also, there is a doctor, a surgery room and sufficient medical supply at the station.

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A garage at the Zhongshan Station. (Xinhua/Zhang Jiansong)

Among the four research stations, Changcheng and Zhongshan serve as the year-round bases, while Taishan and Kunlun are only used in the summer.

During the past winter, 19 Chinese researchers have stayed for 368 days in the Zhongshan Station, and conducted various scientific research programs on atmosphere, aurora, meteorological observation and earth tide among others.

They have also cleaned up the station during the winter. The garbage containers lined at the bottom of the hill have already been classified and are waiting to be delivered back to China for further treatment.
 
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Chinese research vessel arrives in Antarctic after month-long journey
2016-12-06 15:41 | chinadaily.com.cn | Editor:Li Yan


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An aerial photo shows the research vessel and icebreaker Xuelong (Snow Dragon) arriving in Antarctic, 31km from China's Zhongshan station, on Dec 5. (Photo from Sina Weibo account of CCTV news)


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Research vessel and icebreaker Xuelong (Snow Dragon) arrives in Antarctic, 31km from China's Zhongshan station, on Dec 5, 2016. [Photo from Sina Weibo account of CCTV news]


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An aerial photo shows the research vessel and icebreaker Xuelong (Snow Dragon) arriving in Antarctic, trying to pave its way by ice-breaking, on Dec 5, 2016. (Photo from Sina Weibo account of CCTV news)


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Research vessel and icebreaker Xuelong (Snow Dragon) docks 31km from China's Zhongshan station in Antarctic on Dec 5, 2016. Taking an expedition team of more than 200 members, it arrived there on Monday after a month-long journey that started on Nov 2 from Shanghai. (Photo from Sina Weibo account of CCTV news)
 
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China Exclusive: Scientists open new window to observe universe in Antarctica
Source: Xinhua 2016-12-13 01:27:38

BEIJING, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- What's in the remote, cold, dark universe? How were the stars born? How will our climate change? The answers might be found in Antarctica.

In the first issue of Nature Astronomy, a newly-founded subsidiary of academic journal Nature, published this week, Chinese scientists and their international collaborators reported that the Dome A scientific observatory in Antarctica offers the best conditions on Earth for measuring very high frequency radiation from the cosmos.

The study suggests the Dome A site offers a unique opportunity to perform terahertz astronomy from Earth, instead of using space-based or airborne telescopes, which are more costly and less flexible, said Shi Shengcai, the leading scientist of the study from the Purple Mountain Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Terahertz (one trillion hertz) radiation is used in astronomy to study the cold dust and gas present in the universe, providing insight into the origins of stars and galaxies, Shi said.

However, as water vapor in the Earth's atmosphere absorbs this radiation, few places on Earth are suited to observing the terahertz range of radiation.

Fortunately, Antarctica offers a dry sky.

Shi and his colleagues monitored the atmosphere from 2010 to 2011 at the China-developed Dome A scientific base, located at the highest point of the Antarctic ice sheet, with a dedicated remotely controlled Fourier transform spectrometer, jointly developed by the Purple Mountain Observatory and the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics of the United States. The device is especially sensitive to terahertz radiation.

They found that the site retains an extremely dry sky longer than other possible locations, making Dome A a prime spot for excellent year-round observational conditions in the terahertz range.

"We have opened a new window to observe the universe in Antarctica, which lays the foundation for building large facilities in Antarctica to achieve more precise astronomical observation," Shi said.

During the two-year study, they found the current models of atmospheric thermal radiation underestimate the absorption of water vapor. "We found the observation at the Dome A site could help establish a more accurate atmospheric model, which is of great significance in the research on global climate change."

China launched its 33rd expedition to Antarctica when research vessel and icebreaker Xuelong (Snow Dragon) left Shanghai at the beginning of last month.

The construction of China's Antarctic observatory will be accelerated, according to Wang Lifan, a researcher at the Purple Mountain Observatory and director of the Chinese Center for Antarctic Astronomy.

Since China's scientific expedition first arrived at Dome A in 2005, the site has been widely viewed in international astronomy circles as the best place for ground-based astronomical telescopes as its cold, dry and clear sky is nearly as good as the conditions in space, Wang said.

In 2013, China made a plan to construct the Antarctica observatory at Dome A, including a terahertz telescope, as well as an optical and infrared telescope. The observatory will help scientists study the origins of the universe and celestial bodies, dark matter, dark energy and extraterrestrial life.

So far, more than a dozen astronomical instruments including two Antarctic survey telescopes have been installed at the automatic observation station at Dome A.

Shi said researchers at the Purple Mountain Observatory have developed the core detector of the five-meter terahertz telescope yet to be installed in Antarctica.
 
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A rare glimpse inside China's Zhongshan Station in Antarctica
2016-12-09 13:16 | Ecns.cn | Editor:Yao Lan

Zhongshan Station is China's research station in Antarctica. The station has an area of 2,700 square meters and features 15 buildings. The station’s indoor temperature is kept at 26 degrees Celsius.


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The photo taken on December 8, 2016 shows a dining hall in China's Zhongshan Station in Antarctica.
(Photo/ Weibo account of CCTV)

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The photo taken on December 8, 2016 shows an activity room in China's Zhongshan Station in Antarctica.
(Photo/ Weibo account of CCTV)

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The photo taken on December 8, 2016 shows an activity room in China's Zhongshan Station in Antarctica.
(Photo/ Weibo account of CCTV)

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The photo taken on December 8, 2016 shows an activity room in China's Zhongshan Station in Antarctica.
(Photo/ Weibo account of CCTV)

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December 8, 2016 shows an activity room in China's Zhongshan Station in Antarctica.
(Photo/ Weibo account of CCTV)

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Scenery of ice and snow from a window in China's Zhongshan Station in Antarctica.
(Photo/ Weibo account of CCTV)

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A lady researcher at China's Zhongshan Station in Antarctica.
(Photo/ Weibo account of CCTV)

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Bird's eye view of China's Zhongshan Station in Antarctica.
(Photo/ Weibo account of CCTV)


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With such gorgeous facilities at this Antarctica station, I can "survive" for at least 6 months.
The internal temperature is maintained at 26 degrees Celsius, just like a nice hotel.
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