That day | 30 years ago, a major national weapon was named "Xuelong"

On December 7, 1992, Wu Heng, former director of the National Antarctic Expedition Committee, personally inscribed the name of the ship "Xuelong" for an Arctic icebreaker transport ship purchased from Ukraine. From then on, a giant ship in Chinese red began to make great contributions to my country's polar scientific research in Antarctica.

Dream Icebreaker

People who are engaged in Antarctic scientific research all dream of having an icebreaker. During the Spring Festival of 1991, Jia Genzheng, former deputy director of the Polar Expedition Office of the State Oceanic Administration, reported to Song Jian, then State Councilor and Director of the State Science and Technology Commission and Secretary of the Party Group, that seven scientific expedition teams had encountered severe ice conditions in Antarctica, which prevented the "Polar" ship from approaching Zhongshan Station to unload cargo, and proposed that an icebreaker was urgently needed for Antarctic research.

In the first half of 1992, the National Antarctic Expedition Committee and the State Oceanic Administration jointly submitted a request to the State Council, requesting the country to build or purchase icebreakers from abroad. Building ships was not easy in those days. According to the calculations of experts in the shipbuilding department at that time, if an icebreaker was built by itself, it would take three to five years and cost 300 million to 500 million yuan.

In late summer of 1992, Wu Jun from the Antarctic Expedition Office told Jia Genzheng a piece of news: Ukraine's Kherson Shipyard had icebreakers for sale at a very cheap price. After further investigation, Jia Genzheng learned that the Kherson Shipyard had built eight 10,000-ton icebreakers, five of which had been sold, and another three were under construction, each costing about $17.5 million. Wu Jun then consulted Zhang Bingyan, chief engineer of the 701st Research Institute of China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation in Shanghai. Zhang Bingyan is an expert in shipbuilding in my country. He had studied in the Soviet Union and was very familiar with the Kherson Shipyard. He said that it was worth buying a 10,000-ton icebreaker at this price and the opportunity should not be missed.

Not long after, Zhang Bingyan was entrusted to form an investigation team to visit the Kherson Shipyard in Ukraine. Three ships were under construction, some of which had completed 92% of the project. The shipyard proposed that if there was an intention to purchase, an agreement should be signed in advance and a 10% advance payment should be paid. After the approval of the National Antarctic Expedition Committee and the State Oceanic Administration, on October 7, we formally notified the other party that we did have the intention to purchase, signed a reservation agreement with the other party, and paid the deposit within the specified time. At that time, the State Council's instructions had not yet come down, and it was risky to pay the deposit first. Wu Heng decisively decided to sign the reservation agreement first and loan the deposit to the state. At the critical moment, Wu Heng wrote to Zou Jiahua, then Vice Premier of the State Council and Director of the State Planning Commission, to explain the urgency of my country's purchase of icebreakers, and attached the ship purchase report that had been submitted to the State Council. Zou Jiahua immediately wrote on the request report: "Please ask Comrade Luo Gan to read and report to the Premier, and suggest that it be solved from the Premier's reserve fund." Li Peng, then Premier of the State Council, signed and approved: "Agree."

Wu Heng, former director of the National Antarctic Expedition Committee

The title of the ship "Xuelong"

On December 7, 1992, Wu Heng named the icebreaker "Xuelong" and wrote the two characters "Xuelong" in his own handwriting. "Dragon" represents China and "snow" represents the ice and snow world of Antarctica. On March 25, 1993, China and Ukraine officially signed the handover. On May 18 of the same year, the "Xuelong" polar research ship arrived in Shanghai. So far, my country finally has its own icebreaker.

The achievements of Xuelong in Antarctic scientific research

Xuelong is China's third-generation polar research vessel after Xiangyanghong 10 and Jidi. After several renovations and equipment updates in 1995, 2007 and 2013, Xuelong has become the backbone of China's polar ocean surveys and polar expedition logistics support. The ship has an advanced communication and navigation system, a hangar that can accommodate 2 helicopters and a helipad. The ship is equipped with A-frame, 10,000-meter geological winch, biological trawl winch, CTD winch, biological hydrological winch, deep-water multi-beam, surface seawater navigation observation system and CTD and other observation and sampling equipment; it has more than 500 square meters of experimental areas for meteorology, physics, chemistry, biology, geology, and comprehensive, equipped with fume hoods, clean workbenches, sterile operating tables, pure water machines, ultra-low temperature refrigerators and other basic equipment, and has a low-temperature laboratory and a low-temperature sample storage warehouse, which can meet the needs of multi-disciplinary basic environmental surveys. The Xuelong set out from Shanghai on October 28, 1994, on its maiden voyage to carry out China's 11th Antarctic expedition mission. It has been 28 years since then.

The "Xuelong" sails in the harsh polar environment and transforms into an "Ice Dragon"

Over the years, the Xuelong has undertaken the transportation mission of China's Antarctic expeditions, and also undertaken the survey missions in key sea areas such as Prydz Bay in Antarctica, playing a pivotal role in promoting the rapid development of China's Antarctic cause. In January 2009, the Xuelong helped the inland ice sheet team of the 25th Chinese Antarctic Expedition to build the Kunlun Station in the Dome A area, the highest altitude of the Antarctic inland ice sheet. During the 26th Chinese Antarctic Scientific Expedition in 2009/2010, the Xuelong crossed the westerly belt six times. During the 30th Chinese Antarctic Expedition in 2013/2014, the Xuelong carried out the first circum-Antarctic voyage mission and successfully supported the construction of the Taishan Station in Antarctica. In March 2018, the 34th Chinese Antarctic Scientific Expedition boarded the Xuelong and entered the Amundsen Sea for the first time for scientific investigation, obtaining full-depth large-section observation data in the core area of ​​the Antarctic Circumpolar Current.

The Xuelong has also made contributions to humanitarian assistance in Antarctica. From December 25, 2013 to January 7, 2014, the Xuelong, which was carrying out China's 30th Antarctic expedition in Antarctica, participated in the rescue of the Russian research vessel "Academician Shokalsky" with 74 people on board. From March 22 to 30, 2014, the Xuelong, which had just completed its scientific research mission and was originally scheduled to dock at Fremantle Port, Australia for rest, also participated in the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 in the southern Indian Ocean.

Schematic diagram of China's Antarctic expedition routes

The achievements of Xuelong in Arctic scientific research

Since 1999, the Xuelong has also undertaken the important task of China's Arctic scientific expeditions, and has carried out systematic multidisciplinary comprehensive surveys in the Bering Sea, Chukchi Sea, Canada Basin and other Arctic Pacific sector waters; at the same time, it has tried the Northeast, Northwest and Central Passages of the Arctic and obtained first-hand environmental data on the passages. On July 1, 1999, the Xuelong made its first voyage to the Arctic from Shanghai, which lasted 71 days and conducted a large-scale comprehensive survey of the ocean, atmosphere, biology, geology and environment of the Arctic Pacific sector. On August 26, 2010, the Xuelong, which was carrying out China's fourth Arctic scientific expedition, arrived at 88 degrees 26 minutes north latitude and arrived at the North Pole by helicopter for scientific investigation, setting a new record in the history of China's Arctic expeditions for the northernmost area of ​​the expedition. From July to September 2012, China's fifth Arctic scientific expedition tried the Northeast Passage, and the Xuelong became the first ship in China's maritime history to cross the Northeast Passage. From July to October 2017, during China's 8th Arctic scientific expedition, the Xuelong crossed the Central Passage and the Northwest Passage, and carried out topographic surveys of the Northwest Passage in cooperation with Canada.

Schematic diagram of China's Arctic expedition routes

In the 28 years since the Xuelong was commissioned, it has sailed across the five oceans, and its surveys of the southern and northern oceans have covered key sea areas such as the Prydz Bay in the Southern Ocean, the waters adjacent to the Antarctic Peninsula, the Ross Sea and the Amundsen Sea, as well as the Bering Sea, the Chukchi Sea, and the central Arctic Ocean. During the survey, a number of new technologies such as unmanned ice station observation systems and underwater cable-free robots were applied, which greatly improved the breadth and sustainability of environmental observations and made a positive contribution to China's understanding of the Arctic.

The Xuelong ship will not be retired

In October 2019, under the leadership of the Party Leadership Group of the Ministry of Natural Resources, China's first independently built polar scientific research icebreaker "Xuelong 2" made its maiden voyage to Antarctica, opening a new era of "double dragons exploring the poles".

"Double Dragon Exploration"

The appearance of Xuelong 2 does not mean that Xuelong will withdraw from the stage of history. "Through professional positioning and division of labor, the new ship and Xuelong will complement each other and double their advantages," said Xu Ning, former director of the Ship Department of the China Polar Research Center of the State Oceanic Administration. Xuelong will give full play to its strong logistical supply capabilities, mainly responsible for logistics support, and mainly undertake the transportation of materials and personnel to the South and North Pole research stations, while taking into account the comprehensive observation and data sampling during navigation. The new ship will give full play to its unique comprehensive polar ocean survey capabilities, mainly focusing on polar ocean scientific research and investigation operations. At the same time, with its high-level icebreaking ability and ice-maneuvering performance, it will provide ice-operation support and rescue capabilities for polar research ships including Xuelong. Relying on the reasonable division of labor of this fleet, the polar ocean survey can effectively meet the needs of environmental and resource scientific surveys, and can also undertake major national special tasks for polar ocean resource surveys, and go deep into the ice zone to carry out large-scale and long-term survey operations.

According to experts, my country's polar work actually requires no fewer ships than the United States and Russia, otherwise it will never be able to keep pace with the international advanced level. Therefore, the ideal normal state for my country's polar work is that the number of polar icebreakers should be 5 to 6. "In the future, the country will also build icebreakers with stronger icebreaking capabilities, preferably able to sail in ice areas all year round, so as to provide more emergency rescue and polar management functions." said Wu Gang, chief designer of the new ship of the 708th Institute of China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation.

China's 39th Antarctic expedition sets out on board the Xuelong ship

On October 31, 2022, the second batch of members of China's 39th Antarctic Expedition boarded the Xuelong from the China Polar Expedition Domestic Base in Shanghai to carry out Antarctic scientific expedition missions and are scheduled to return to China in early April 2023.

From scratch to something, from small to large, China's polar expedition has been moving forward step by step. Now it has 6 research stations in the North and South Poles, as well as icebreaker fleets, snowmobile fleets, and fixed-wing aircraft, entering a three-dimensional era of comprehensive exploration. Looking back on the past, despite the difficulties and hardships, we still carry on; looking forward to the future, even if there are many risks, we still have no hesitation. Under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, my country is moving forward to become a polar power with its feet on the ground and its head held high.