Xuelong 2, China's domestically made cutting-edge polar research vessel and icebreaker, can break ice 1.5 meters thick that is covered by another 50 centimeters of snow. The vessel is expected to arrive in the Antarctic on Nov 26.

Sun, who also heads the State Oceanic Administration, urged all Chinese scientists and researchers to gain a better understanding of the polar region while conducting their research in the region's severe cold, so that it can be both better utilized and preserved.

[email protected]