Shanghai Municipality, east China - March 12, 2019 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Various of China's icebreaker Xuelong sailing back, crew members waving hands
2. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Zhang Zhanhai, chief engineer, Ministry of Natural Resources (partially overlaid with shots 3-4):
"The 35th Antarctic scientific expedition team with the icebreaker Xuelong has returned today after completing a 131-day mission covering more than 30,000 nautical miles. The expedition team overcame unexpected difficulties and completed the mission with important scientific achievements."
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3. Icebreaker Xuelong
4. Crew members on Xuelong
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FILE: Antarctic - Exact Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
5. Icebreaker Xuelong

Shanghai Municipality, east China - March 12, 2019 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
6. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Sun Bo, head, 35th Antarctic Expedition Team (partially overlaid with shots 7-8):
"We have made new breakthroughs in the research and development of core technologies, reshaping the pattern of the dominant disciplines and front-line technologies in China's Antarctic expedition. We have deployed China's first and the world’s third set of monitoring buoys in the key waters of the westerlies, indicating that China's buoy technology under extreme conditions has reached the advanced international level, and will significantly improve China's ability of observing sea-air-ice interaction in the Southern Ocean."
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7. Xuelong crew members at meeting
8. Various of crew members descending anchor into sea
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FILE: At sea - Exact Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
9. Various of team during expedition
10. Photos of expedition

FILE: Antarctic - Exact Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
11. Snow, buildings
12. Various of crew members during expedition
13. Snow Eagle 601 during expedition

Shanghai Municipality, east China - March 12, 2019 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
14. Zhang Zhanhai, chief engineer, Ministry of Natural Resources (partially overlaid with shot 15):
"We are thrilled to see the newly-built Xuelong 2. It should be the most advanced icebreaker for expedition on Antarctic and Arctic in the world, and we have spent many years building it. I think it is really not easy to have better expedition equipment and conditions, and more advanced apparatuses. I believe that Xuelong 2 will add new capabilities and provide better conditions for the Antarctic and Arctic expeditions."
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15. Various of animation of Xuelong 2
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16. Animation of Xuelong 2

China's icebreaker Xuelong returned to its base in east China's Shanghai Municipality on Tuesday after completing its 35th Antarctic expedition.

It was learned that the 349 members from 92 units, including the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and many universities, made a series of researches during the four-month-long mission, including putting up new buildings and supporting facilities in the research bases, marine species surveys, underwater robot tests, and installation of new radar and solar telescopes.

"The 35th Antarctic scientific expedition team with the icebreaker Xuelong has returned today after completing a 131-day mission covering more than 30,000 nautical miles. The expedition team overcame unexpected difficulties and completed the mission with important scientific achievements," said Zhang Zhanhai, chief engineer of the Ministry of Natural Resources.

According to Sun Bo, leader of the expedition, the main achievements of the mission include the building of the first under-snow Taishan Station, the building of a new energy source system made up of wind power and solar power under the extreme weather conditions, completion of comprehensive survey in the eastern part of the Amundsen Sea, discovering the multiplication habitat of krill. The aircraft Xueying 601 discovered a new areas where the most ancient ice core may be obtained. The researchers also completed the construction of a runway in China's first airfield in Antarctica, which will greatly facilitate the nation's research and expedition on the frozen continent.

"We have made new breakthroughs in the research and development of core technologies, reshaping the pattern of the dominant disciplines and front-line technologies in China's Antarctic expedition. We have deployed China's first and the world’s third set of monitoring buoys in the key waters of the westerlies, indicating that China's buoy technology under extreme conditions has reached the advanced international level, and will significantly improve China's ability of observing sea-air-ice interaction in the Southern Ocean," said Sun Bo, head of the 35th Antarctic Expedition Team.

The icebreaker departed from Shanghai on Nov 2, withstood the harsh natural conditions in the Antarctica and overcame difficulties including colliding with icebergs in January.

Xuelong is the only Chinese polar icebreaker in service. Built in 1993 in Ukraine, Xuelong has been upgraded into a polar research vessel and has supported China's annual expeditions to Antarctica for more than 20 years.

In addition, the research team also carried out the first experiment in China's independently-developed polar underwater robot in the Ross Sea. At the Zhongshan Station, China's first middle and upper atmosphere aurora radar in polar region was installed and put into operation. China's independently-developed drilling equipment for polar ice sheet and subglacial bedrock has been successfully tested in the Antarctica for the first time, making China the third country in the world with core drilling technology and equipment in the field. The observatory site environmental monitoring system was installed at the Kunlun Station for the first time.

"Xuelong 2," China's first domestically built icebreaker, will be put into use this year. It will have high safety standards and strong ice breaking abilities.

"We are thrilled to see the newly-built Xuelong 2. It should be the most advanced icebreaker for expedition on Antarctic and Arctic in the world, and we have spent many years building it. I think it is really not easy to have better expedition equipment and conditions, and more advanced apparatuses. I believe that Xuelong 2 will add new capabilities and provide better conditions for the Antarctic and Arctic expeditions," said Zhang.