China's Xuelong sets out on ninth Arctic expedition

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The ice breaker, Xuelong, departed the Port of Shanghai on Friday, launching China's ninth Arctic exhibition and set sail for the North Pole region on a journey of over 12,300 sea miles.

This non-stop voyage, which is expected to take about two months, is the first of its kind since the country published a white paper on its Arctic policy in January.

China's exploration of the Arctic can be dated back to the late 1990s. The first seven focused on scientific research and the eighth one, which happened one year ago, traveled the Northwest Passage along the Arctic rim for the first time.

The ninth expedition is aimed at enriching China’s knowledge on marine hydrography, meteorology and chemistry by investigating the the Arctic Ocean's high latitude sea area. The hope is the expedition will provide some new information about the area's environment and climate.

CCTV reporter in the control cabin of the ice breaker, Xuelong /CCTV Photo

Onboard Xuelong are crew members and international scientists from China, France and the US, who are going to share research data on hot topics like ocean pollution.

According to the expedition team leader Zhu Jiangang, China still needs firsthand information about the Arctic region's geographical and maritime environment and its ecosystem.

(Top image: China’s ice breaker Xuelong departs Port of Shanghai on July 20, 2017. /VCG Photo)