This Day, That Year

Item from Dec 21, 1984, in China Daily: Xiangyanghong 10, China’s first scientific expedition vessel sent to the Antarctic after sailing through the Pacific Ocean, has entered a berth off Ushuaia in Argentina, the southernmost city on the globe ... The ship set sail from Shanghai on Nov 20 and has completed a nonstop voyage of almost 20,000 kilometers.

The country’s scientific capacity in the Antarctic has improved rapidly.

Since 1984, China has sent 34 Antarctic expedition teams and built four research stations in the South Pole — Great Wall, Zhongshan, Taishan and Kunlun. A fifth is under construction on the Ross Sea Ice Shelf.

Last year, the country’s first fixed-wing aircraft in the Antarctic, Xueying 601, was put into service, which greatly enhanced the logistical capacity of Chinese Antarctic expeditions.

The Polar Research Institute of China of the State Oceanic Administration unveiled a plan early this year to begin site selection and survey of the country’s first airfield’s construction in Antarctica by 2018.

While beefing up air logistical capacity, the country’s first home-built icebreaker is under construction at Jiang-

nan Shipyard Co, and will be put into service in 2019.

Xuelong, or

Snow Dragon, is the only Chinese icebreaking research ship in service. It is now serving on the 34th Antarctic expedition.

China’s Antarctic Programs, the country’s first white paper on its Antarctic explorations, was published in May, pledging to boost the country’s capabilities in the exploration and study of the continent.

Besides the scientific expedition, Antarctic tourism is popular among the country’s growing middle class.

Last year, Chinese tourists comprised the second-largest group of visitors to the Antarctic Peninsula, second only to the United States.

On Saturday, a Hainan Airlines flight with 22 passengers on board landed on Antarctica, marking the country’s first tourist trip to the South Pole.