Getting to the construction site was not easy, Li said. Moving at an average speed of less than 10 km an hour, his team encountered fields of very hard sastrugi-ridges in the snow carved by the wind-which can rise to more than 1 meter in height, making progress very difficult and uncomfortable. They also came across crevasse fields, which had already been surveyed and marked during previous expeditions.

The team stopped for a maximum of eight hours per day during the traverse. They slept and ate in six specially fitted containers, one of which contained a generator and toilet, two contained the kitchen and eating areas and three held the sleeping quarters.

Transport capacity and construction conditions caused the biggest difficulties for the crew while they built Kunlun Station. Transport vehicles couldn't carry too much weight as the ice was too weak, so the researchers had to disconnect the sledges and transport them piece by piece. By the time all the materials arrived at their destination, the project was already 12 days behind schedule.

Less time meant more pressure for the construction team and support personnel, and completing their mission on schedule required working long hours in extremely demanding conditions.

Construction efficiency was not even half what would be attained at home and they had just 30 days left for construction. In order to reduce time demands to a minimum, the main building was designed for easy assembly and consisted of a kit totaling 17 containers ready-fit right down to the beds, carpet and door handles.

"Environmental factors were taken into consideration when constructing the station," said Wu Jun, Deputy Director of the Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Administration. Thorough environmental analysis and assessments were made before the construction began. He said engineers made plans with an eye toward reducing the construction's effects on the environment as much as possible.

Ideal for experiments

"Building a station at Dome A and drilling a deep ice core there has been a dream for Chinese scientists for a very long time. Our first inland traverse was completed in 1996, and since then, we have completed six more traverses to the Dome A region," said Yang Huigen, leader of China's 25th Antarctic expedition.

The Dome A icecap, where scientists hope to drill the oldest ice core yet collected, contains a bevy of information on the global climate and atmospheric changes. "By studying the ice core we can obtain the record of climate changes over a million years," said Li Yuansheng.

On their way back from Kunlun Station, scientists stopped at regular intervals to carry out research, including collecting surface ice samples, GPS surveying work to measure ice sheet movement and measuring atmospheric conditions.

Dome A is also a perfect place for astronomical observations as there are no mountains or other obstructions to block the view.

"We can have more observation time and less artificial-light disturbance there," said Zhu Zhenxi, a Chinese astronomer. China will make use of the most advanced astronomical facilities to obtain the latest observation data and hopefully to make breakthroughs that lend insight into the origin of the universe, dark matter and the world outside our solar system.

So far the station can hold up to 20 people to carry out summer science research. "It takes more work to sustain the station than to build it in terms of support systems," said Wei Wenliang, an official with the State Oceanic Administration. Wei has led research teams to Antarctica eight times.

The station is expected to be upgraded in 3 to 5 years to become a perennial base that allows scientists to live and work there year-round.