Anyone needing to get a letter or package off to Antarctica should drop it in the mail soon. The Beijing International Post Office (BIPO) will be making its next run to the frozen southern continent on February 4.

The delivery, the fourth in the past 12 months, is part of the post office's trial service to Antarctica. The program marks the first time in two decades that mail from China has been delivered to the southernmost continent, according to BIPO official Chi Tao.

Along with the mail, BIPO is sending an official to the Changcheng (Great Wall) Station, on King George Island in the South Shetland Islands, to investigate whether it is necessary to set up a post office there.

The station is capable of accommodating a maximum of 80 people in summer and 40 in winter, but normally houses an average of 40 in summer and 14 in winter.

China also operates Zhongshan Station on the continent's coast at Larsemann Hills, and an ongoing expedition to Dome A will select a site for a permanent inland research station, a project included in China's 11th Five-Year Plan.

The Great Wall Station post office may open within the next few months, making it possible for mail from any post office in Beijing to reach Antarctica. Deliveries will be possible only during the continent's summer months because of severe winter weather, according to Chi.

The mail will travel 17,051 kilometers to the Great Wall Station via Chile. Each piece of mail weighing 20 grams or less will cost 7 yuan (84 US cents).

(China.org.cn, Xinhua News Agency January 20, 2005)