Snow Dragon, the icebreaker,sails home

Crew of icebreaker happy after returning to Shanghai

Wang Jianzhong could not hide his delight after finishing the 159-day scientific expedition in Antarctica.

"Seeing my family after months away is certainly a happy moment," said Wang, captain of the Chinese icebreaker Xuelong, or Snow Dragon, which arrived in Shanghai on Tuesday.

Xuelong left Shanghai on Nov 7 on China's 30th Antarctic expedition, which involved scientific research, construction of the country's new Antarctic research station and the inspection of a new base.

But unlike previous expeditions, this expedition had unexpected challenging tasks and experienced a bit of difficulty.

"The whole journey had many rough stretches, and it was really not an easy expedition this time. We had a hard time getting all things done and getting back," said Wang, who has been doing ocean work for 25 years and been Xuelong captain since 2012.

On Dec 25, Xuelong received a request for help from a Russian ship, Akademik Shokalskiy, which had become trapped in ice about 185 km east of France's Dumont d'Urville base. [Read more]

Ø Stories on the icebreaker

Ø Voices of experts

On Jan 2, Jia Shuliang, one of China's most experienced helicopter pilots, lifted off in a Kamov Ka-32 from Xuelong, a Chinese icebreaker, in Antarctica to rescue 52 passengers aboard a stranded Russian research vessel that had been trapped since Christmas Eve.

It was a good day to fly — clear skies, warm temperatures, about 2 C — and the 56-year-old pilot and his partner, Liang Gaosheng, headed to the Akademik Shokalskiy, the trapped ship. [Read More]

Pilot meets challenge of Antarctic rescue

"The stranding of the Russian vessel Akademik Shokalskiy in Antarctica in December is a wake-up call for China," said Qu Tanzhou, director of the State Oceanic Administration's Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Administration.

Qu said because incidents in polar regions may increase, China must be better prepared to handle them. It must also take steps to prevent them, he said. [Read more]

Official sees need to be prepared for more polar area rescues

Ø Background

Ø Photo Galleries

Ø Xuelong's capabilities by numbers

1993 China's only icebreaker was purchased from Ukraine in 1993.	200 The ship has 200 square meters of laboratory space.
1994 In 1994, the vessel was converted from an Arctic cargo ship to a polar research and supply vessel.	128 128 beds for are for passengers.
2007 It was upgraded in 2007.	2 It has a helipad parking space for two helicopters and now carries the helicopter Snow Eagle 12.
30 It has a service lifespan of about 30 years.	18 Xuelong has sailed to Antarctica on 18 expeditions since 1994 and the Arctic on five expeditions.
*16722.6** The vessel is 167 meters long and 22.6 m wide.	16 The Snow Eagle 12 helicopter can carry 16 passengers.
21,025 When loaded to a draft of 9 meters, it has a displacement of 21,025 metric tons.	5 Snow Eagle 12's payload capacity is five metric tons.
18 In open water, the ship can achieve a maximum speed of 18 knots.	52 It rescued 52 passengers aboard the stranded Russian vessel in the Antarctica in January.
1.1 Xuelong can break ice about 1.1 m thick when traveling at 1.5 knots.	2.5 It can fly 2.5 hours for 800 km on a full tank.
1.5 Xuelong can break ice about 1.1 m thick when traveling at 1.5 knots.	800 It can fly 2.5 hours for 800 km on a full tank.

Ø Timeline

Ø China's four Antarctic bases