Chinese astronomers signed an agreement with officials of the Qinghai provincial government on Wednesday in Beijing to jointly build a world-class astronomical observation base on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, known as "the roof of the world."

After three years of monitoring, researchers from the National Astronomical Observatories under the Chinese Academy of Sciences concluded that Lenghu area on Saishiteng Mountain in the northwestern province of Qinghai would be an ideal location to build an astronomical observatory.

The research team published a paper in the journal Nature in August, saying that this area enjoys the advantages of clear night skies, stable atmospheric conditions and dry climate, offering great potential for one of the world's best observatory sites, as good as the existing locations in Hawaii and Chile, the researchers said.

According to the scientists, the construction of this astronomical observation base will provide key support in developing optical astronomy, planetary science and deep space explorations in China.