China to Build Nation's First Airport in Antarctica

By Bryan Grogan

China is planning to build its first airport in Antarctica, with construction workers set to take off for the ice-covered region on November 2.

This comes just three years after the country’s first polar airplane, Xueying (meaning 'snow eagle') 601, began making flights to Antarctica, according to CGTN.

Since then, China has been making use of Russian airfields to land researchers in Antarctica. In contrast, the United States currently has a stake in 13 different airports in Antarctica.

In addition to expanding their airline capacities on the continent, China recently added a second icebreaker to its shipping fleet, with the Xuelong ('snow dragon') 2 taking its inaugural voyage earlier this year.

Currently, China has four research bases in Antarctica, with two of them operating year round and two operating seasonally.

The southernmost continent in the world has recently emerged as a region of serious global importance, with countries racing to secure the wealth of oil, gas and minerals which hide beneath melting ice caps.

The region is also thought to be the key to unlocking a number of strategic transport routes. China itself proposed their vision for a Polar Silk Road at the beginning of this year.

[Cover image via Wikimedia]

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