China Expands Its Footprint In Antarctica

China's Zhongshan station in Antarctica is a polar research and exploration facility. Photo: Xinhua

Asia Times: China plans airstrip near one of five bases in Antarctica

Chinese keen to boost logistical support to its bases near the South Pole; a fifth base is due to be finished in 2022

A group of Chinese scientists and engineers is set to embark on a trek to the bottom of the world aboard the Xuelong, an icebreaking research vessel, early next month to kickstart the nation’s 35th Antarctic exploration mission.

They plan to conduct a survey and likely lay the foundation for a permanent airstrip atop a polar ice sheet some 28 kilometers from the nation’s Zhongshan polar research and exploration station in the Larsemann Hills by Prydz Bay in East Antarctica.

Chinese papers said one of the major technical hurdles was site selection, and Chinese geologists spent a year monitoring ice sheet dynamics on a number of possible locations on major glacial bodies near the Zhongshan station.

The meteorological team has also installed automatic weather stations to collect data.

Read more ....

Update: China to begin building first permanent airfield in Antarctica (SCMP)

WNU Editor: Questions are being raised on what are China's long term goals in the Antarctic .... What’s China up to in Antarctica? (Claire Young, The Strategist).