Is a tourist boom hurting China’s scientific research at the bottom of the world?
Swarms of visitors at China’s first research base in Antarctica are distracting scientists and raising worries about the impact of human traffic on the ecosystem
It was the ultimate selfie opportunity and but the tourists on Hangzhou-based wildlife filmmaker Xu Chenghua’s Antarctic excursion had been told to stay well away from the penguins.
Xu, who has been to Antarctica twice, said the tourists were repeatedly reminded of the rules, including no littering and staying at least five metres (16 feet) from animals.
“But some Chinese visitors still behaved badly ... [including] making a lot of noise, dancing in front of the penguins and even shaking hands with them,” he said.
“This is a place that only rich people can afford, but I think their manners are inconsistent [with their wealth],” the filmmaker said.
As the ends of the Earth come with reach of more of the China’s tourists, scientists and tour operators are growing ever more aware of the need to manage the influx to minimise the impact on the continent’s fragile environment.
Wang Pei, a member of China’s 33rd Antarctica scientific study team, said he and his coworkers met visitors frequently when he worked at the Great Wall Station – China’s first on Antarctica – from December 2016 to February 2017.
When not immersed in field work and handling data, team members at the South Shetland Islands research station were greeting anywhere from 12 to 100 visitors, mostly from China, up to four times a week, Wang said.