Chart of the Day: 10 years at China's Antarctic Taishan Station

Today marks the 10th anniversary of the completion of China's Antarctic Taishan Station, which is the country's second Antarctic inland summer research station. China now has five Antarctic stations: two summer stations and three all-year stations.

Completed on February 8, 2014, the Antarctic Taishan Station has an area of 710 square meters with summer accommodation for 20 people. The maximum temperature in summer is -9.2 degrees Celsius, the extreme minimum temperature in winter is -60 degrees Celsius, and the mean annual temperature is -35.3 degrees Celsius.

A polar glacier and meteorological observation system and a space physics observation system are mainly deployed in the station. They provide important support for the research at the Kunlun Station, fixed-wing aircraft and Grove Mountain in Antarctica.

China opened its fifth scientific outpost, Qinling Station, in the Antarctic on Wednesday. It is the third Chinese research base in Antarctica and will be operational all year, hosting up to 80 people in the summer and 30 during the winter. It mainly carries out atmospheric, oceanic, biological and ecological research.