The Great Wall Station () is the first

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

research station Research stations are facilities where scientific investigation, collection, analysis and experimentation occurs. A research station is a facility that is built for the purpose of conducting scientific research. There are also many types of resea ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...

and opened on 20 February 1985. It lies on the

Fildes Peninsula The Fildes Peninsula is a long peninsula that forms the south-western end of King George Island in the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica. It was named from association with nearby Fildes Strait by the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee in ...

on King George Island, and is about from the

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

an Frei Montalva Station, and from

Cape Horn Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramí ...

. The station is sited on ice-free rock, about above sea level.

History

In 1984, China organized its first scientific expedition to Antarctica, and

Guo Kun Guo Kun (; September 1935 – 3 April 2019) was a Chinese polar explorer. He led China's first expedition to Antarctica in 1984–1985 and participated in seven Antarctic expeditions in total. He led the construction of China's first two Antarcti ...

was named the leader of the 591-member expedition team. The team departed

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

on 20 November 1984 on two ships, the ''Xiang Yang Hong 10'' and the ''J121'', and arrived at King George Island off the coast of Antarctica on 30 December. A main part of their mission was to construct China's first antarctic base, the Great Wall Station. As the ''Xiang Yang Hong 10'' was not an

icebreaker An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters, and provide safe waterways for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller ...

, the team had to leave before the end of the antarctic summer and had only a short window of opportunity to complete their mission. Under Guo's supervision, the team worked 16 to 17 hours a day in often severe weather conditions, and completed the construction in only 40 days. The station was opened on 14 February 1985. In summer, the station holds up to 40 people; in winter, 14. The station's No. 1 Building, erected in 1985, lies at the centre of the station and has a total floor area of . It marks the beginning of China’s presence in Antarctica and its Antarctic research program. In 2012, the Antarctic Treaty System designated two sites at the station as

Historic Sites and Monuments in Antarctica A Historic Site or Monument (HSM) is a protected location of historic interest on the continent of Antarctica, or on its adjacent islands. The list of historic sites was first drawn up in 1972,

following nominations by China: a monolith erected to commemorate the establishment of the station and the station's No.1 Building. Antarctic China2

References

Bibliography

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External links

Official website Polar Research Institute of China

Official website Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Administration

COMNAP Antarctic Facilities Map
{{Historic Sites and Monuments in Antarctica Outposts of the South Shetland Islands China and the Antarctic Buildings and structures completed in 1985 Polar Research Institute of China Historic Sites and Monuments of Antarctica 1985 establishments in Antarctica

History

See also

References

Bibliography

External links