Ten college students have been chosen for a two-week Arctic
visit starting next Thursday, which aims to arouse greater public
attention to China's polar research.
The "Embrace the First Ray of Sunshine in the Arctic" trip will
enable the students to visit a number of landmarks, including the
Svalbard Islands in northern Norway, the Chinese Arctic Yellow
River Station and the Norwegian Polar Institute.
The students, two from Hong Kong, passed a national online quiz
about the Polar regions and passed a series of tests covering their
English proficiency, physical and psychological condition.
"This activity, the first of its kind in China, aims to drive
home the message that the public, especially college students,
should be more concerned with the relationship between the Arctic,
global climate change and human beings," Chen Lianzeng, deputy
director of the State Oceanic Administration (SOA), said.
Anna Saeboe, from the Norwegian government, said the student
trip showed China and Norway had strengthened their cooperation on
issues of climate change and environment.
The trip, organized by SOA, the International Polar Year (IPY)
Chinese committee and the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, was among the international cooperation and exchange
activities of The China Program for IPY 2007-08.
The IPY 2007-08 was launched last March and this is the first
time China has taken part in the international initiative in which
scientists carry out large-scale, joint scientific activities.
During IPY, thousands of scientists from more than 60 countries
and regions and a wide range of research organizations will carry
out 220 science and outreach projects.
China has also undertaken extensive exploration of the Antarctic
over the years with 23 expeditions since 1984. It has built two
permanent stations, Changcheng (Great Wall) and Zhongshan.
The country has almost 10,000 Antarctic aerolites, or meteorite
stones, including priceless lunar and Martian aerolites, the
third-largest collection of its type in the world.
(China Daily February 20, 2008)