Chinese icebreaker leaves Tianjin for 28th Antarctic expedition

With hundreds of people waving their hands and saying goodbye, the Chinese icebreaker Xuelong, or "Snow Dragon", left Tianjin on Thursday for the country's 28th scientific expedition to Antarctica. The 220-member expedition team, including two scholars from Taiwan, will carry out 31 scientific research tasks during the around-160-day trip. The Antarctica survey telescope independently designed by Chinese researchers will be installed at Dome A, the continent's highest point at 4,093 meters above sea level. According to the plan, Xuelong, an A-2 class icebreaker capable of breaking ice 1.2 meters thick, will arrive at Zhongshan Station in early December and will reach Changcheng Station at the beginning of next year after having finished the first-stage work as well as an ocean survey. It plans to return to Zhongshan Station on February 18, 2012 to carry out the second stage of work. The icebreaker is expected to leave Zhongshan Station on March 10, 2012 and return to Shanghai about one month later, covering an estimated 31,000 nautical miles over the course of the expedition. China launched its first expedition to the Antarctic in 1984 and has established three stations there, including Changcheng Station, Zhongshan Station and Kunlun Station.