On February 7, 2024, China's fifth Antarctic research station, "Qinling Station", was officially opened, filling the gap in China's exploration in the Ross Sea region of Antarctica. 
Because of the difference between the northern and southern hemispheres, the season at the end of the year and the beginning of the year is the busy season for China's "40th Antarctic Expedition". At the same time, this scientific expedition also sent construction equipment to the "Qinling Station" that was under construction at that time; And just after another 2 months, the "Qinling Station" was officially opened, and China's construction and China's speed are amazing!
Qinling Station was built.
On December 8, 2023, the construction site of Qinling Station in the Ross Sea on Enksburg Island, Antarctica.
On December 6, the "Snow Dragon 2" and "Tianhui" ships arrived near the new station in the Ross Sea, began unloading operations and personnel landing, and returned to the port of Lyttelton in New Zealand on December 23 after completing the mission on the evening of December 12.
Around December 16, the "Snow Dragon", which carried out China's 40th Antarctic scientific expedition, left Zhongshan Station for the Great Wall Station on the 17th after completing the unloading task at Zhongshan Station, and arrived at the Great Wall Station on December 28 to start unloading operations.
On December 16, China's 40th Antarctic Expedition departed from Zhongshan Station, arrived at Grove Mountain on December 21, Taishan Station on December 22, and Kunlun Station on January 1.
With an area of about 14 million square kilometers, Antarctica is the farthest, loneliest and coldest continent on Earth, with 95% of the ground covered with an average thickness of 1,500 meters, all but the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula within the Antarctic Circle. Antarctica's ice and snow are the world's largest freshwater reservoirs, with 90% of the world's snow and ice stored here, accounting for 72% of the Earth's surface freshwater reserves.
Looking vertically down from the sky above Antarctica, or looking through a globe, Antarctica is not what we see flat on a normal world map. Looks a bit like a clown with a fake nose, or a one-horned rhinoceros head?
William of England, 1819. Captain Smith's discovery of the South Shetland Islands marked the discovery of Antarctica. However, it was not until 20 years later, around 1842, that it was confirmed as a continent by U.S. Navy Captain Wilkes.
In 1911, Amundsen of Norway, Filchner of Germany, Scott of Britain, Mawson of Australia, and White Otter of Japan led expeditions to the South Pole. Eventually, Amundsen became the first person to reach the South Pole. On December 14, 1911, Amundsen and his group of five people arrived at the South Pole, set up camp for three days, and set up the Norwegian flag.
scott's hut (uk) erected 1911 - seen in 2009 with the modern mcmurdo station in the background
However, at about the same time, the five-member expedition led by Scott was exhausted due to lack of food, cold weather, and physical exhaustion, and all the personnel died in the wind and snow.
In November 1929, the American Bird and others completed the first aerial expedition to fly to the South Pole.
In February 1935, the wife of the Norwegian Mikkelsen landed on the coast of Ingrid Christensen with a Norwegian expedition, becoming the first woman to land on the Antarctic continent.
1938 In 1939, a German expedition led by Richher flew into Empress Maud's Land, flying a total of 120,000 km, as in some other countries, a flag is dropped at intervals.
The outbreak of World War II brought the exploration of Antarctica to a halt.
1946 In 1947, the United States carried out the "Operation High Jump" plan, sending 13 ships, 26 aircraft of various types, and more than 4,700 personnel to conduct large-scale, large-scale, and near-full-coverage observations of Antarctica, which once again confirmed that Antarctica is indeed a continent.
Around this time, in addition to the United States, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, Argentina and Chile in South America, and Australia and New Zealand in Oceania also formed expeditions to conduct scientific expeditions and establish bases in Antarctica.
In 1908, Britain declared sovereignty over the fan-shaped massif, including the Antarctic Peninsula, and its waters, followed by Australia, New Zealand, France, Chile, Argentina, and Norway claiming territory over Antarctica. The United States and the former Soviet Union do not recognize any country's territorial claims to Antarctica, while reserving their own right to make territorial claims to Antarctica. In this way, by the 40s of this century, excluding the United States and the USSR, only the aboveSeven countries have made territorial claims to 83 of the Antarctic continent
To this end, Eisenhower, then the United States, proposed that the Antarctic Conference conclude the Antarctic Treaty. On December 1, 1959, 12 countries, including the Soviet Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, New Zealand, Australia, Norway, Belgium, Japan, Argentina, Chile and South Africa, signed the Antarctic Treaty in Washington, D.C., and it officially entered into force on June 23, 1961.
The Antarctic Treaty effectively freezes any form of territorial issue in Antarctica and does not recognize or deny territorial sovereignty claims over Antarcticaand to encourage international cooperation in scientific expeditions to Antarctica. Article I of the Treaty stipulates that Antarctica shall be used only for peaceful purposes. In Antarctica, any measures of a military nature, such as the establishment of military bases and fortifications, the holding of military exercises, and the testing of any kind of **, should be specifically prohibited.
Since then, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, the Czech Republic, Ecuador, Finland, Germany, India, Italy, the Netherlands, Peru, Poland, South Korea**, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine and Uruguay have acceded to the Treaty. There are now a total of 29 consultative States parties. Under the Antarctic Treaty, only those countries that have expressed an interest in Antarctica by undertaking substantive scientific research activities in Antarctica, such as the establishment of scientific research stations or the dispatch of scientific expeditions, may become consultative States.
On February 20, 1985, the Great Wall Station in Antarctica, China, was completed. On June 8, 1983, Zhang Wenjin, China's ambassador to the United States, submitted a document of accession to the United States, the depositary of the Antarctic Treaty, and China officially became a member of the Antarctic Treaty. On October 7 of the same year, China became a negotiator of the Antarctic Treaty. Since then, China has had the right to speak and make decisions on international Antarctic affairs.
In addition, 27 observer States, including Austria, Belarus, Canada, Colombia, Cuba, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Malaysia, Monaco, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Portugal, Romania, the Slovak Republic, Switzerland, Turkey and Venezuela.
The earliest "bases" in Antarctica were the ships of early explorers. In 1898, the Belgian had to become the first ship to winter in Antarctica because it was frozen in ice.
the ship belgica frozen into sea-ice the first ever over-wintering in antarctica, 19th november 1898
In the winter of 1899, Carsten E. Borsch Gravenck and his expedition took 10 men and 75 sled dogs to winter for the first time in a cold and wet wooden hut in Antarctica.
stone hut, hope bay, swedish antarctic expedition 1903
To this day, sled dogs are still important participants in Antarctic scientific expeditions, and Antarctic huskies have always been the best companions of scientific expeditions.
At present, more and more countries have established research stations in Antarctica. According to the "Focus Interview", there are currently more than 70 scientific research stations in Antarctica around the world. However, according to the information provided on the official website of the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat, there are currently 36 countries with various scientific research facilities in Antarctica, but the actual number is far more than this because of the different statistical standards of scientific research bases at different levels, such as perennial stations, summer stations, shelters, and camps.
Argentina, as the closest country to Antarctica, is the first and largest country to establish research stations in Antarctica, with as many as 31 research stations and shelters since the establishment of Orcadas Station in 1904.
Australia As one of the most important countries in the southern hemisphere, Australia has 33 research stations, shelters and camps in Antarctica. The earliest of these is Mawson Station, which was established in 1954.
Chile, as a South American country, is also one of the first countries to establish a station in Antarctica. In 1947-1948, Chile established the Captain Arturo Prat Station and the General Bernardo Oigins Station in Antarctica.
South Afr South Africa established the Gough Island Station and the Marion Island Station (Marion Island Station) in 1948-1949.
sanae iv (south africa) built as a new base in 1997
United Kingdom, the former empire on which the sun never sets, first established Faraday Station and Sigourney Station in Antarctica in 1947.
Since 1956, Russia has successively established 12 scientific research stations in Antarctica. If we add the Vernadsky Station, which now belongs to Ukraine, the former Soviet Union actually has 13 research stations in Antarctica.
Since 1956, the United States has successively established four research stations in Antarctica, as well as more than 20 warehouses and depot camps.
The Polar Expedition Office of the State Oceanic Administration of China is responsible for the overall management of China's polar scientific expeditions.
Since 1985, China has successively established five scientific research stations in Antarctica: the Great Wall, Zhongshan, Kunlun, Taishan and Qinling. Among them, the distance between Great Wall Station and Zhongshan Station and Beijing is 17501949 km, 12553160 km.
China's definition of Antarctic scientific research station refers to the establishment of an expedition base consisting of buildings, scientific research sites and ancillary facilities in the area south of 60 degrees south latitude for the purpose of scientific research, which is a public welfare scientific research unit approved by the state, mainly undertaking scientific investigation, operational monitoring, operation and maintenance and other tasks.
Zhongshan Station aircraft supply material site.
The official name of the Great Wall Station is ".National Field Scientific Observation and Research Station of Polar Ecology of the Great Wall of Antarctica”。The scale of the station area is 4082 square meters, with 12 buildings of various types, oil storage capacity of 700 cubic meters, a first-class apron and a 40-ton berth, with construction machinery, transportation vehicles, double-engine rubber boats, all-terrain vehicles, triangular crawler off-road vehicles, etc., mainly to carry out biological research, environmental monitoring, conventional meteorological observation, ice and snow, sea ice, geology, geomagnetism, scientific observation, satellite surveying and mapping and other scientific research observations and research.
A road sign outside the Great Wall Station in Antarctica, China.
The full name of Nakayama Station is "".National Field Scientific Observation and Research Station of Snow, Ice and Space Special Environment and Disasters in AntarcticaIt is the second perennial scientific research station built by China in Antarctica on February 26, 1989. The scale of the station area is 8,000 square meters, 18 buildings of various types, oil storage capacity of 660 cubic meters, with three aprons and a 40-ton berth, mainly to carry out meteorological observation, polar high-altitude atmospheric physics, ice and snow and atmosphere, ocean, geology, geochemistry, geography, environmental monitoring and other scientific research observation and research.
A seal photographed by a Chinese expedition team in the Amundsen Sea on January 12, 2024.
Kunlun Station is China's first Antarctic inland summer research station, which was completed on January 27, 2009. The main building scale of the station area is 558 square meters (excluding the ice core drilling work area under the snow), mainly including dormitories, scientific research and observation, satellite communications, kitchen facilities, medical facilities, water supply and water facilities, heating facilities, generator units, oil-fired boilers, sewage treatment, oxygen generators, snow melting equipment, etc., with fixed-wing aircraft ice and snow take-off and landing runways. In terms of scientific research, it mainly carries out scientific research in the fields of glaciology, astronomy, geophysics, atmospheric science, etc., and is a "natural laboratory".
Taishan Station is China's second Antarctic inland summer research station, which was completed on February 8, 2014. The scale of the station area is 710 square meters, the main building is shaped like a "Chinese red lantern", and the station area has a fixed-wing aircraft ice and snow take-off and landing runway. In terms of scientific research, it mainly carries out polar glacier and meteorological observation systems and space physics observation systems.
In addition to the construction of research stations, Antarctic expeditions also require special research vessels. Since 1984, when China first organized a team to conduct a scientific expedition to Antarctica, six ships have been sent to the Antarctic region for transportation and scientific expeditions, including "Xiangyanghong 1O", "J121", "Haiyang 4", "Polar", "Snow Dragon" and "Snow Dragon" 2. The first three of them have only made one Antarctic voyage. "Polar" and "Snow Dragon" were completed on the basis of anti-icing cargo ships and icebreakers purchased from Finland and Ukraine.
On December 31, 2023, the "Snow Dragon" delivered supplies to the Great Wall Station.
Xuelong 2 polar research icebreaker Xuelong 2 is designed by China Shipbuilding 708 and built by Jiangnan Shipbuilding (Group) Co., Ltd., which is the world's first polar research icebreaker with bow and stern two-way icebreaking technology, which can operate at a speed of 2-3 knots in ice thickness of 15 meters + snow thickness 0Under the condition of 2 meters, continuous ice-breaking navigation can realize 360° free rotation in situ in the polar region and break through the ice ridge of 20 meters in the polar region.