China's State Oceanic Administration issued the 2005 China Polar Exploration Report recently, the first of its kind since the country started scientific exploration activities in the North and South Poles more than 20 years ago

Starting from scratch, the country's polar exploration has been under continuous development and has taken an initial shape, forming a scientific system of North and South Pole explorations, known as the "three stations and one vessel".

At the present, scientific researchers in the country are doing feasibility research on the establishment of the third South Pole Exploration Station, also the first inland exploration station in the South Pole.

The system includes the Antarctic Great Wall Station set up in February 1985, the Zhongshan Station in the Antarctic in February 1989, the Arctic Yellow River Station in July 2004 and the Xuelong scientific exploring ship, which has undertaken exploration tasks in the North and South poles since 1994.

China will issue a polar exploration report each year in the future, said an official with the administration.

(People's Daily February 15, 2006)