An expedition and research team of scientists and journalists will start the construction of China's first scientific expedition and research station in the North Pole in Norway's Svalbard archipelago at the end of September, sources said Friday in Beijing.

Gao Dengyi, the team head and a scientist from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that the upcoming expedition will lead to a three-year comprehensive scientific research project on the climate, environment, resources and life forms in the North Pole area.

The facility, China Yilite-Mornring Arctic Scientific Expedition and Research Station, will support Chinese scientists in accommodation, scientific inspection and communication, Gao said.

The Arctic is a key area influencing global, particularly China 's, climate, and of great interest to Chinese scientists, the scientist said. The China Scientific Exploration Association will send the team to gather information on atmosphere, sea, ice and snow, and earth in the Arctic region so as to lay a solid foundation for the future construction of a permanent scientific research station there.

Chinese scientists started their expedition efforts to the North Pole area in the early 1990s, and have organized 10 expedition and research tours to the region so far.

China's first government-funded expedition to the North Pole was carried out from July to September 1999.

(People's Daily 09/08/2001)