China launched a nationwide campaign on Monday to select 10
college students for an Arctic visit next year. The trip aims to
arouse greater public attention to China's Arctic research.
The "Embrace the First Ray of Sunshine in the Arctic" trip will
provide the opportunity for the students to visit a number of
landmarks, including the Svalbard Islands in northern Norway, the
Chinese Arctic Yellow River Station and the Norwegian Polar
Institute.
"This activity, the first of its kind in China, aims to drive
home the message that the public, especially college students,
should be more concerned with the relationship between the Arctic,
global climate change and human beings," said Yang Huigen, deputy
director of the Polar Research Institute of China.
The exploration, co-sponsored by the International Polar Year
(IPY) Chinese committee and the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, was among the international cooperation and exchange
activities of The China Program for IPY 2007-2008. It was
officially launched in March. It is also the fourth IPY and the
first time China has taken part.
The 10 students will be selected after a national on-line
knowledge contest about the polar region and a series of tests for
their English proficiency and physical and psychological
condition.
IPY is an international event during which scientists carry out
large-scale, joint scientific activities.
During IPY, thousands of scientists from more than 60 countries
and regions and a wide range of research disciplines, will carry
out 220 science and outreach projects.
China has undertaken extensive exploration in the Antarctic over
the years with 23 expeditions since 1984. It had also built two
permanent exploration stations, Changcheng (Great Wall) and
Zhongshan.
The country has almost 10,000 Antarctic aerolites, or meteorite
stones, including priceless Lunar and Martian aerolites, the third
largest collection of its type in the world.
(Xinhua News Agency December 11, 2007)
