China opens a 4th Antarctic station
Print Edition
CHINA has opened a fourth Antarctic research base, the State Oceanic Administration said yesterday.
Taishan station is located between Zhongshan and Kunlun stations on the East Antarctic inland ice sheet.
Standing at an altitude of 2,621 meters, the station measures 1,000 square meters, with its main building 410 square meters.
President Xi Jinping gave his congratulations in a letter, saying that scientific research in the Antarctica is important for the exploration of nature and development of mankind.
Xi noted that the base will not only be a platform for China’s scientific research but also for exchanges with scientists from other countries.
Qu Tanzhou, head of the Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Administration under the SOA, said that Taishan’s circular structure will help prevent the accumulation of snow around the station during winter gales.
It can accommodate up to 20 people during the Antarctic summer and has a runway designed for severe weather.
The average temperature there is minus 36.6 degrees Celsius.
Taishan’s facilities can be used for scientific observation, accommodation, power generation, storage, machinery maintenance, communications and emergency shelter, said officials.
It also has oil storage installations and equipment to support a 400-ton inland vehicle team.
Taishan was built by China’s 30th Antarctic scientific expedition mission, taking a 28-strong crew 53 days to complete.
China launched its first Antarctic expedition in 1984, and inaugurated the Great Wall station the following year.
It opened the Zhongshan station in 1989 and Kunlun in 2009.
SOA said another all-year-round station will be built in Antarctica’s Victoria Land by the end of 2015.
China is willing to work with other nations through the Kunlun station, SOA deputy director Chen Lianzeng said.
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