In February 1985, China opened the Great Wall Station, the country's first research establishment in West Antarctica. The station lies on the Fildes Peninsula, King George Island, 2.5 km from the Chilean Eduardo Frei Montalva Station, and 960 km from Cape Horn.

A second station, Zhongshan, which was put in use in February 1989, is located in the Larsemann Hills of Princess Elizabeth Land in East Antarctica, where the atmosphere is colder and drier than at the Great Wall Station.

Zhongshan can accommodate 60 people during summer and 25 during winter. The 10 tube-shaped dormitories are decorated with face masks from Peking Opera and house an automatic cold- and hot-water supply system that can guarantee showers year-round.