Antarctic expedition team returns to Shanghai

By Zhang Kun (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-04-10 22:33

Antarctic expedition team returns to Shanghai

Wang Jianzhong shows a rock specimen collected from the Antarctic, April 8, 2010. [Xinhua]

Xuelong, an icebreaker ship, returned to the Shanghai Harbor Saturday morning after completing China's 26th Antarctic expedition.

According to the ship captain Wang Jianzhong, this was Xuelong’s longest voyage. “It covered such a long distance as to get around the earth three times,” he told the media.

During the expedition, China's third research station in the Antarctic, Kunlun, came into use, doing astronomy research. Also, progress was made studying ancient ice drilled from underground Dome A, an inland plateau on the Antarctic.

Wang showed rock specimens collected from the Antarctic. The smooth surface of the rock has been formed by strong winds and snowstorms, he said. Scientists collected 1618 meteorites from the Grove Mountains region during this expedition. This increased China's total meteorites collection to more than 10,000.

Xuelong set out on October 11, 2009, making two trips between China's two research stations, Zhongshan and Changcheng (Great Wall), and traveled more than 32,000 sea miles.

Among the 249 expedition team members, 30 are staying at the South Pole for the long polar winter season.

During the upcoming World Expo 2010, the Xuelong ship will be open for a week.

The Polar Research Institute of China (PRIC) will present a special exhibition at Shanghai Science and Technology Museum, where visitors can see specimens from the South Pole brought back by the expedition, said Wang.

The Xuelong (Snow Dragon) icebreaker is seen in the harbor of Shanghai after completing China's 26th Antarctic expedition, April 8, 2010. [Photo/Xinhua]