Pioneers’ origin tale of science station

LHASA — From a mere campsite to being fully equipped with advanced scientific instruments, the Chinese Academy of Sciences Qomolangma Station has borne witness to the 17-year-long ardor of scientists exploring the unknown.

The station is located in the Rongpo river valley, Dingri county, Southwest China’s Tibet autonomous region, 30 kilometers away from the Mount Qomolangma base camp.

In 2005, the station’s site was barren, gravel-covered land, and Chinese scientists had not set up any observation stations on the north slope of Qomolangma.

Ma Yaoming, the first head of the station, says that, due to the need for scientific research, building an observation station on the north slope was put on the agenda.

The scientific research team members carried out the station’s construction, research and observation tasks simultaneously. They set up a tent under Mount Qomolangma, known in the West as Mount Everest.

He recalls that on the third day at the base camp, they were woken up by a flapping sound and were greeted with the sight of the starry sky. It turned out that a strong wind had lifted the top off the tent.

We have filled the gap in China’s scientific research observation in the Mount Qomolangma region ...”

After this experience, Ma strengthened his determination to establish a field station for monitoring and long-term residence.

To find an ideal place to build the station, he traveled and searched for months. When he returned home, his 10-year-old daughter failed to recognize him because of his tanned skin, a result of exposure to the unfiltered sun at high altitude.

Ma Weiqiang, the current head of the station, says he was a doctoral student of Ma Yaoming at the beginning of the station’s establishment. He recalls that the road from Shigatse city to the station was bumpy. People sitting in the car would bang their heads against the roof, and the car even broke down halfway.

Cranes were necessary for the erection of instruments at the station. However, the road conditions to the village were so poor that no crane driver was willing to come. He could only mobilize the locals to help carry the instruments to their positions.

There was also no mobile phone signal at the foot of Mount Qomolangma, so the builders had to go to the nearby Chotsong village to contact the outside world with the fixedline telephone.

Ma Weiqiang experienced the expansion process of the station from a tent, to a portable clapboard structure and finally to a permanent structure. He also witnessed its growth from an atmospheric physics observation station to a comprehensive observation station, covering the atmospheric environment, glaciers, hydrology, ecology and geophysics.

“We have filled the gap in China’s scientific research observation in the Mount Qomolangma region, and our team has also achieved a great deal that we are proud of,” says Ma Yaoming.

Ma Yaoming, the first head of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Qomolangma Station