A 17-member Chinese expedition team is expected to reach Friday
Dome A, the highest Antarctic icecap peak at an elevation of 4,093
meters, its leader Sun Bo said.
In a telephone conversation with China's Changcheng (Great Wall)
Station in Antarctic Monday, Sun said they had arrived at an
altitude of 3,381 meters and just 230 km away from the highest
icecap, adding they could reach Dome A Friday.
The 17 scientists set off from China's Zhongshan Station in
eastern Antarctic on Dec. 22 for Dome A. They are tasked with
choosing a suitable location for China's third Antarctic research
station and implementing a major exploration task, the Panda
plan.
China currently has two stations in Antarctic. 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.
The 17 researchers are part of China's 24th scientific
expedition team which arrived here Saturday. The country launched
its first expedition to Antarctica in 1984 and such expeditions
have been conducted on an annual basis since then.
(Xinhua News Agency January 9, 2008)