China to embark on 33rd Antarctic expedition

Chinese research vessel and icebreaker, Xuelong (Snow Dragon), is scheduled to depart from Shanghai Wednesday on the country's 33rd scientific expedition to Antarctica.

Sun Bo, deputy director of the Polar Research Institute of China, made the announcement Friday at a press conference.

A team of 256 will set out on Nov. 2 for a 161-day trip of 31,000 nautical miles, according to Sun, who will lead the team.

They will visit the Zhongshan, Kunlun, Taishan and Changcheng stations and perform various research tasks. The team is scheduled to return to Shanghai on April 11 next year.

The expedition has a list of 72 tasks to perform including preliminary site selection for China's new base on the Ross Sea and work on fixed-wing aircraft.

Sun defined the trip as an "expedition of the brave" which will show the country's strength and enthusiasm for discovery.

The team will carry out observations in the Princess Elizabeth Area to explore subglacial lakes and rifts. They will drill ice cores hoping to examine the changes of the world's environment over the past 50,000 years.

They will also conduct astronomical observations at the Kunlun station, Sun said.

Xuelong will arrive at the Zhongshan station in eastern Antarctica in early December. After unloading at Zhongshan, Kunlun, and Taishan stations, the ship will go on to resupply in Chile.

In late January it will survey the Ross Sea and return to the Zhongshan station in late February, departing in early March to return home.

China made its first expedition to the Antarctic in 1984 and has four stations in Antarctica.