At the southernmost point of the planet, there is a continent covered by a thick ice sheet, the last continent to be discovered by humans and still uninhabited, known as Antarctica.
Since the 20s of the 19th century, 10 countries, including Britain, Germany, Norway and Argentina, have put forward territorial claims to Antarctica.
After several rounds of negotiations, on December 1, 1959, a total of 12 countries, including the United States and the Soviet Union, signed the Antarctic Treaty, which established that Antarctica should be used only for peaceful purposes and froze all territorial claims.
Since the entry into force of the Treaty on 23 June 1961, Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings have been convened every two years (since 1991 it has been annual). This is the highest-level meeting of all that concerns Antarctica.
New China did not officially participate in it until after the reform and opening up. However, China's first participation in this meeting was not because of glory, but because of an unforgettable humiliation.
Although China was not involved in the early exploration of Antarctica, our attention to this mysterious continent has never stopped. As early as 1964, when the State Oceanic Administration was established, it was clear that future marine expeditions would include Antarctic expeditions.
However, at that time, China was in a period of hostility between the United States and the Soviet Union, and encountered various obstacles in terms of international access, and was unable to participate in the Anglo-American-led Antarctic Treaty Consultative Conference.
As a result, China is the only one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council that does not have decision-making power in Antarctic affairs. But that hasn't stopped us from exploring Antarctica, and we're always trying to improve ourselves so that we can be part of it at some point in the future.
After the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States in 1979, the United States relaxed its restrictions on China due to the need to jointly confront Soviet hegemony, and at the same time, China's reform and opening up and the strengthening of scientific and technological exchanges between countries made the conditions for China's entry into the Antarctic gradually mature.
By the end of the 70s of the last century, 18 countries had established more than 40 scientific research bases and more than 100 summer stations in Antarctica, including not only developed countries, but also many developing countries, such as Argentina and Chile, and even set up settlements and gave birth to several babies in Antarctica.
Under these circumstances, the urgency of China's accession to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Conference has been greatly enhanced. On May 11, 1981, China formally established the National Antarctic Expedition Committee and began to organize and plan the Antarctic expedition.
In 1983, China's Antarctic strategy gradually became fuller, and the 27th meeting of the Fifth Aftestacy voted to adopt the resolution to join the Antarctic Treaty. On June 8, Ambassador Zhang Wenjin to the United States submitted his instrument of accession to the depositary of the Antarctic Treaty, the United States, marking that China has officially become a party to the Antarctic Treaty.
It should be noted, however, that the terms "States parties" and "consultative States" are two different concepts. States Parties are countries that have ratified or acceded to the Antarctic Treaty, while Consultative States are countries that have carried out substantive scientific activities in Antarctica, such as sending expeditions or establishing research stations.
At that time, China had not yet carried out these expeditions, but it still became a party to the Antarctic Treaty.
In 1983, China received an invitation to attend the 12th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting in Canberra, Australia, which was the first time China had participated in such a conference.
To this end, we specially sent a three-person delegation composed of *** and the Antarctic Commission, Sima Jun, Guo Kun and Song Daqiao, to attend the meeting. On 13 September, the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting officially began, lasting 14 days.
The meeting was attended by 25 countries, of which 16 were consultative parties and 9 were States parties. Although there is only two words between negotiation and treaty making, the powers are very different.
According to the regulations, the Consultative Parties have the right to vote in addition to sending representatives to participate in the Consultative Meetings. The measures and resolutions of the Conference can only take effect if they are unanimously adopted by all the consultative parties.
In addition, the Consultative State has the right to send observers to carry out any inspection activities provided for in the Treaty. States parties, on the other hand, could neither vote nor conduct inspections.
There were more than 30 items on the agenda, and when it came time to vote, the chairman would tap the gavel in his hand and politely say, "Please go outside and enjoy coffee." ”
Although this sentence is tactful, the meaning is very clear: "You are not eligible to vote for the time being, please wait outside first." "And after the voting is over, no one will inform them of the progress of the meeting and the results of the vote.
Guo Kun has dedicated more than 30 years to the construction of the Antarctic research station of the motherland, and has fulfilled this oath with practical actions. In the summer of 1985, Guo Kun led the scientific expedition team to gain a firm foothold on King George Island in Antarctica for the first time, achieving the first victory in the history of station construction and achieving China's breakthrough from the periphery of Antarctica to the South Pole.
This is China's first successful station in Antarctica, and it is another milestone in the history of China's polar scientific expeditions. Since then, China's Antarctic expedition has gradually developed and expanded, and its scientific research projects have covered various fields such as astronomy, geology, meteorology, glaciers, biology, oceanography, surveying and mapping, and have achieved fruitful scientific research results, making positive contributions to human understanding, protection and peaceful use of Antarctica.
In 1983, the self-esteem of the Chinese delegates and the people of the whole country was greatly stimulated, and China by this time actually had the ability to establish its own research stations.
However, the Antarctic Treaty is only valid for 30 years and is about to expire in 1991. Who knows if the threshold will be revised to make it more difficult to become a "negotiating country"?
In order to ensure China's position in Antarctica, we cannot wait any longer. So, on February 7, 1984, 32 scientists submitted a joint letter to *** with the title of "March to Antarctica", hoping to establish China's own research station in Antarctica, and they would obey the call of the motherland at any time.
Soon after, *** issued an instruction: "Agreed." On September 11, the leadership team of China's first Antarctic expedition formation was formally formed, with Chen Dehong as the commander-in-chief, Zhao Guochen and Dong Wanyin as the deputy commander-in-chief, and Guo Kun as the leader of the Antarctic expedition team.
Fifteen days later, the embassies of Australia, New Zealand and Argentina in China issued an official statement: "The Chinese Antarctic Commission has decided to send a Chinese Antarctic expedition to Antarctica in the summer of 1984-1985.
The Xiangyanghong 10' ocean-going scientific research ship and the 'J121' salvage and rescue ship will go to the waters of the Antarctic Peninsula on November 20, 1984 to conduct a scientific expedition to the Southern Ocean, and are preparing to establish a summer station in the Antarctic Peninsula region, and at the same time carry out scientific expedition activities, hoping that all countries will give assistance and convenience. ”
On November 20, China's first Antarctic expedition team composed of 591 members officially set off from Shanghai. From China to Antarctica, it is not very far on the map, but the actual voyage is very long.
After sailing for 28 days, 7 hours and 30 minutes, the expedition successfully plunged into the Pacific Ocean and reached the closest place on Earth to the South Pole: Ushuaia, the capital of the Argentine prefecture of Tierra del Fuego, with a distance of nearly 20,000 kilometers.
The establishment of a Chinese summer station on the Antarctic continent is a symbol of our country's expansion of international influence and elevation of its international status. This action will also further promote the development of China's Antarctic scientific expedition and contribute to the protection of the earth's environment and the progress of human society.
After five days of repairs and replenishment, the expedition team set off again, and after a lot of hardship, it successfully arrived in Antarctica at 5 a.m. on December 26 and sailed into Maxwell Bay to prepare for the establishment of China's first research station: the Great Wall Station.
On the afternoon of December 30, under the leadership of Guo Kun, the first batch of 54 expedition members took two landing craft and marched along the rugged Fields Peninsula to the target, and finally landed on the island at 3:16 a.m., planting the bright five-star red flag on the Antarctic continent, which was the first time that the Chinese nation landed on the southernmost continent of the earth, and it was also a historic breakthrough.
Before February 20, 1985, the expedition team had to complete the task of building the Great Wall Station, including the construction of a wharf, loading and unloading materials, digging a working building, a dormitory building, a generator room, a meteorological observation station, a field and a food and vegetable warehouse.
Since this was a tight schedule, the comrades of the expedition team had to complete the construction task within 50 days, and also ensure the quality. To this end, they prepared 500 tons of station construction materials and scientific research instruments and equipment.
However, here's the problem: they had only one *** and two dinghys at their means of transporting supplies. Moreover, during the rush to transport supplies, they also encountered a snowstorm that lasted for ** days.
By the time all the supplies and equipment were unloaded, it was already January 17. The expedition team had to wait until January 20 to officially start construction of the Great Wall Station.
In less than a month remaining, the Xiangyanghong 10 expedition team faced a difficult task. The comrades of the domestic delegation will arrive on February 18, and in order to live up to their expectations, the team members shouted "Fight hard for 27 days and build the Great Wall Station!" ”
slogan. In order to achieve this goal, the team members worked an average of seventeen or eighteen hours a day, and also faced the challenge of a blizzard. Despite the exhaustion of every day, none of them complained of being tired, but insisted on working hard.
After 26 days of hard work, the team members successfully built China's first scientific research base in Antarctica - the Great Wall Station on February 14, 1985. This is the result of hard work and a testament to team spirit and perseverance.
When the stationmaster of the Soviet station learned about this, he shook his head again and again and said that it was impossible, and even came to the scene to check it out in person. After seeing the results, he approached one of the team members and asked, "How much do they give you a day to make you work so hard?" ”
The team member waved his hand and replied, "Even if they give me 10,000 yuan a day, I won't accept it because I volunteered." At 10 a.m. on February 20, the completion ceremony of the Great Wall Station was held as scheduled, and the team members happily beat gongs and drums to celebrate, but because they were too excited, they actually knocked the gong out of a big hole.
Originally no one cared about it, but now it is attracting attention. Before the completion of the Great Wall Station, China had tried to cooperate with some Antarctic Scientists to conduct research, but it was ruthlessly refused.
Their attitudes were mixed, with some politely refusing and some even ignoring them. However, after the completion of the Great Wall Station, they came to congratulate and invited Chinese scientists to investigate.
This change also allowed Guo Kun to fulfill his vow. Eight months after the completion of the Great Wall Station, the 13th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Conference was held in Brussels, and Guo Kun attended the meeting as one of the Chinese representatives.
On October 7, the first day of the conference, 26 countries held a special meeting and jointly decided to admit the People's Republic of China as a member of the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties. The last time Guo Kun and other comrades suffered humiliation as members of the "delegation of the States Parties", the members of this delegation were extremely proud to have successfully participated in the meeting as a delegation of the Consultative Countries.
Today, China has established four scientific research stations in Antarctica: Great Wall Station, Zhongshan Station, Kunlun Station and Taishan Station, and at the same time, the fifth scientific research station Ross Sea New Station is under active construction and is expected to be completed this year.
On November 5, 2021, 154 members of the expedition team set off from Shanghai to the Great Wall Station to carry out the scientific expedition, and 18 days later, another 101 team members embarked on the journey, and these two groups of team members together formed the 38th Antarctic expedition team of China, which is expected to return to the motherland in mid-April 2022.
Over the past 39 years, China's influence in Antarctica has grown from scratch and from small to large, bringing unique contributions to Antarctica. Among them, the Chinese scientific expedition team established a "vegetable greenhouse" in Antarctica and planted vegetables, fully demonstrating our "traditional advantages".
We are well aware that today's achievements are inseparable from the hard work of Guo Kun and other pioneers of the older generation. We will always remember their contributions.