This Day, That Year: Feb 15

Editor's note: This year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of New China.

On Feb 15, 1985, the Great Wall Station was established as China's first Antarctic research base. The station is located on King George Island, with a peak summer population reaching 80 and a winter population of about 40.

An item from Jan 3, 1985, in China Daily showed Chinese scientists putting up a tent after laying a foundation stone on King George Island for the Great Wall Station.

On Feb 26, 1989, Zhongshan Station, the country's second base, was opened on Larsemann Hills in Prydz Bay, East Antarctica. It can accommodate 25 people in winter and 60 in summer.

On Jan 27, 2009, China's first inland base, Kunlun Station, was built on a site about 4,087 meters above sea level and 7.3 kilometers southwest of Dome A, an ice dome on the Antarctic Plateau.

Taishan summer field camp, the country's fourth Antarctic base, was built on Feb 8, 2014, at Princess Elizabeth Land, 2,621 meters above sea level with a population of up to 20.

The construction work for the fifth one at Victoria Land on the Ross Sea is underway during the ongoing 35th Antarctic expedition.

On Nov 2, the expedition rolled out with 351 members on board the research vessel and icebreaker Xuelong, or Snow Dragon. The journey is expected to last 162 days and cover about 68,500 km.

To further beef up logistical capacity, Xuelong 2, the country's first home-built icebreaker was manufactured at Jiangnan Shipyard Co, and will be put into service this year.

The vessel is 122.5-meter long, 22.3-meter wide, and has a displacement of 13,990 metric tons. With a maximum speed of 15 knots, or 27.8 km per hour, the icebreaker can sail on 60-day expeditions with 90 crew members and researchers.

The nation has been paying more attention to scientific research and peaceful development in polar regions. It has conducted 34 Antarctic expeditions and nine Arctic expeditions.