Flying from Beijing, six-stage and up to 35-hour flight during 4 days, Wang Wen, executive dean of Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China(RDCY), accompanying with the business investigation group, successfully arrived at the South Pole on local time December 17, 2017, and conducted a one-week field research.

The landing of the business team, which was organized by Hainan Airlines, signals that Chinese commercial flight successfully lands in Antarctica for the first time, and sets a new record that Chinese people organize their own business investigation group to the Geographic South Pole.

Wang notes that the launching of Chinese commercial flight to Antarctica will arouse the interest of Chinese tourists and also encourage more Chinese consumers to pay attention to Antarctica. It also helps foster the interest of the Chinese people in the natural environment and issues such as climate change and ecological protection, in addition to the responsibilities that China should take in the continent.

He emphasizes that China’s growing involvement in the management of Antarctica would encourage greater scientific cooperation, environmental protection, and the implementation of international treaties on Antarctica.

Combined with the research results as well as the data collection and preparation for the last few months, RDCY will release an in-depth research report themed on China’s Antarctic strategy for the new era, according to Wang.

China’s involvement with Antarctica is relatively new, but has developed rapidly. China became a consultative member of the Antarctic Treaty on October 7, 1985. The number of Chinese scientific stations on the continent currently ranks sixth in the world. China conducted its first successful test flight to Antarctica in 2015.