Chinese scientists will start a 150-day journey to the South
Pole from Shanghai Monday.?Its first stop is the Zhongshan
Station on the Antarctic coast.
The major goal is to climb the highest icecap of the South Pole
in preparation for building a permanent research station in inland
Antarctica.
The scientists will take samples and set up a temporary weather
station there. A team of 10 Chinese scientists and two journalists
will make a trip of 1,300 kilometers inland from Zhongshan Station
on the southeast coast of Antarctica to Dome A, the continent's
highest icecap, 4,300 meters above sea level.
The Xuelong (Snow Dragon), a scientific research ice-breaking
ship designed for polar seas will carry the 135 expedition members.
If the expedition is successful, China will be the first country to
get to the Dome A area by land.
(CRI.com October 24, 2004)