Continuing his coverage of the 25th Chinese Antarctic Expedition, science journalist Jean de Pomereu reports on the departure of the Dome Argus (Dome A) traverse team from the Chinese Zhongshang Station in the Antarctic on the International Polar Foundation's SciencePoles website.
On 18 December following an official departure ceremony, a team of 28 men left Zhongshang to start the 1,220 km traverse into the interior of Antarctica to Dome A, the highest point on the East Antarctic Ice Sheet at almost 5 km above sea level. Once they arrive at Dome A, the team will begin construction of China's new Kunlun Station.
Lead by Mr. Li Yuansheng and consisting of a crew that includes a special high-altitude doctor from Tibet and two-man television crew from China Central TV, the traverse team is driving 11 tractors pulling some 40 sledges in total across the vast expanses of the Antarctic continent. The journey is expected to take 20 days.
