(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-12-24 20:43

ABOARD XUELONG SHIP -- China's scientific exploration ship "Xuelong" (snow dragon) has left for Changcheng (Great Wall) Station in the western Antarctic to conduct research and supply missions after unloading supplies and equipment at Zhongshan Station.

Xuelong on Sunday left Zhongshan Station in eastern Antarctic for Changcheng Station, where the ship is scheduled to unload about 1,000 tons of oil and other goods for the station's largest ever renovation.

During the journey, which is along latitude 65 degrees south, the ship will cover over 5,000 nautical miles (9200 km) across nine time zones.

Xuelong, which left Shanghai on November 12, arrived at Zhongshan Station on December 11 and unloaded over 1,000 tons of supplies including four 22-ton snow tractors and one 23-ton excavator on China's latest scientific expedition to Antarctica, which is the country's 24th such expedition.

Meanwhile, 17 Chinese scientists out of the 188-strong expedition team set off on December 22 for Dome A, the highest Antarctic icecap peak at an elevation of 4,093 meters.

They will choose a suitable location for China's third Antarctic research station after Changcheng and Zhongshan stations, and implement a major exploration task, the Panda plan.

The biggest ever renovation project on Zhongshan Station started on December 22, which includes the construction of a new dock and the leveling of a high-frequency radar field.

China launched its first expedition to Antarctica in 1984, with such expeditions conducted on an annual basis since then.

Changcheng Station, founded in February 1985, is located south of King George Island, and Zhongshan Station, built in February 1989, is located south of Prydz Bay on the Mirror Peninsula, east of the Larsemann Hills.

According to the Polar Research Institute of China, 82 stations have been built on Antarctica and the continent receives more than 30 scientific expedition teams every year.