Icebreaker welcomes Hongkongers aboard

The Chinese-built icebreaker Xue Long 2 opened its doors to the public yesterday, allowing students from multiple schools to tour the research vessel during its stay in Hong Kong until Friday.

While the students were excited about the opportunity, many expressed a desire for a longer visit to gain a more in-depth understanding of the ship's samples and research findings.

Despite the time constraint, the organizing committee arranged daily visits for about 1,000 people in smaller groups, enabling them to explore the scientific equipment on board. Participants were also given a commemorative postcard upon completing the visit.

One student, Lau, was particularly impressed by a device on the vessel capable of collecting seawater samples at a depth of 6,000 meters.

Lau expressed optimism about the country's progress, saying: "I am interested in biological sciences and hope to study biomedical engineering and conduct research on deep-sea organisms at university."

However, not everyone felt satisfied with the limited duration of the tour, with a woman remarking that "it felt like we're in a hurry to leave."

Local universities also organized student visit groups to the icebreaker, recognizing it as an opportunity for students to gain insight into China's efforts to address climate change.

Ken Yung Kin-lam, associate vice president of the Education University, emphasized the significance of the visit.

"Students can learn about biodiversity and how polar regions affect the global climate. This visit would have a greater impact on them than studying on campus," he said.

In a related event, Zhang Beichen, the chief scientist of China's 40th Antarctic expedition and the team leader, attended the Global Conference on Climate Change at the Chinese University.

Zhang highlighted Antarctica's role as a witness to climate change, noting that its pure samples can provide clear reflections of subtle changes in the global environment, serving as a warning for humanity.

The conference spanned two days and aimed to underscore the importance of global collaboration in addressing the climate change crisis.

CUHK president Rocky Tuan Sung-chi expressed hope that the event would foster partnerships between researchers, industry leaders, policymakers and students.

Zhang also said the expedition had observed significant changes in the polar environment.

For the first time in 40 years of Antarctic expeditions, the team collected samples of unusable fragmented sea ice at Zhongshan Station. This, he said, indicated the impact of a heatwave on Antarctica.

"These changes can actually have significant impacts on the global environment - the reduction of the Antarctic ice sheet has caused sea levels to rise by eight millimeters over the past three decades," Zhang warned.

stacy.shi@singtaonewscorp.com