Liu Ke, a student of 2015 session majoring in Geographic and Oceanographic Sciences of Nanjing University and a member of Inland Team of China’s 32nd Antarctic Expedition, kept a diary of more than 10,000 Chinese characters of the scientific expedition within about 4 months, showcasing that what the “Antarctic people” were doing was not an easy job.
Liu Ke and other members disembarked from Xuelong Ship by taking the helicopter KA-32 on December 5 last year. The scientific expedition at Kunlun Station this time was made up of five major parts. Liu Ke was in the deep ice core drilling group and his major task was deep ice core drilling.
The first deep ice core drilling was discovered on January 3, and the scientific expedition at Kunlun Station was all over on January 21. No signs of life, except two skuas, was seen during this time, said Liu Ke.
The expedition team arrived at the base of departure in the inland at 2 p.m. on February 7 which was New Year’s Eve. They went directly to the bathrooms after returning to Zhongshan Station. “It may be hard for you to understand how exciting it was for people who have not had a bath for two months to come to the bathroom. It was probably the best bath I had taken in my life. I had a woderful time.”
Xuelong Ship whistled on March 8, and Liu Ke and his teammates began their return voyage. Xuelong Ship successfully arrived at Port of Shanghai on the morning of April 12, indicating the successful conclusion of China’s 32nd Antarctic expedition.
