Preliminary Antarctic station prep done

Preparation work for the construction of China's fifth Antarctic station has been completed, scientists on the icebreaker Xuelong (Snow Dragon) said on Saturday, after the country's 34th national scientific expedition to Earth's southern polar region.

Temporary housing, a dock and roads have been built at the station on Inexpressible Island in the Ross Sea's Terra Nova Bay, and electric power generation, seawater desalination and long-distance communication have all been established despite severe weather conditions, scientists said at a media briefing after the Xuelong returned to Shanghai following its 165-day expedition.

"Basic surveying and mapping, ecological monitoring, geological exploration and the design of the fifth station have been completed. This is the third year-round station after Changcheng and Zhongshan stations, and the first to be situated on the boundary of the Pacific Ocean," said He Jianfeng, assistant to the chief scientist of this year's 257-member expedition team.