China's 34th Antarctic Expedition: Nowhere is off limits for fixed-wing aircraft Xueying 601

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China's polar fixed-wing aircraft: Xueying 601, or "Snow Eagle", in coordination with icebreaker Xuelong, has kept the country's 34th Antarctic expedition well supplied. Designed for fast transport and emergency rescue, the aircraft is also suitable for research purposes. SUN YE has more.

Transportation and replenishment. These two constitute the lifeline to support China's scientific research in the polar region. Chinese icebreaker Xuelong has long played an important role in rendering logistical support. This time around, Xueying has become increasingly prominent in coordination.

ZHU BIAO, DEPUTY HEAD FIXED-WING OPERATIONS TEAM, CHINA'S 34TH ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION "Xueying arrived here earlier than Xuelong and carried around 1.5 tons of vegetables to the Zhongshan Station by cooperating with the stations of other countries. In addition, we have also brought accessories for some posts so that machinists and other workers can use them to carry out regular maintenance and repair work."

Weighing around 2.5 tons, supplies were first packed in southern Australia's Hobart and later transferred to Australia's Davis Station in the Antarctic. Xueying then carried them all the way to Zhongshan Station.

ZHANG TIJUN, TEAM LEADER ASSISTANT CHINA'S 34TH ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION "This is called qbq, which is actually a service-for-service method. No pecuniary exchange is involved. Both sides, highly complementary in resources, provide services to each other or acquire certain logistics support from each other over a long period of time."

International cooperation matters and has been expanded. Apart from fulfilling its task of goods supply, Xueying also helped Australian transport researchers. And with more effective coordination, involving different countries, and vehicles, nowhere is off limits for Xueying.