China has sent two icebreakers to the Antarctic in its most ambitious polar expedition to the resource-rich continent yet. The Xuelong, or Snow Dragon, left Shanghai on Tuesday morning with a crew of 107 and 1,450 tonnes of supplies on board. It is expected to meet another icebreaker, Xuelong II, at Zhongshan Station on Prydz Bay in East Antarctica in late November before the ships carry out separate missions in the region. This will be the 36th official Antarctic expedition for China, and the first involving two research icebreakers. Xuelong II, the first Chinese-built vessel of its kind, was commissioned in July and left for its maiden Antarctic journey last week. The ships will be back in China by late spring next year. The voyages have been hailed by state media as “the start of China’s new era of polar exploration”. Zhao Yanping, the captain of Xuelong II, was quoted by the Science Daily website as saying that experts believed the ships could significantly expand Chinese science missions in the polar regions. Xuelong II, with propellers at bow and stern, can make up to 15 knots (28km/h) in open water and three knots (5.6km/h) when breaking ice. Observers said it could pave the way for a nuclear-powered icebreaker. Xuelong, the country’s first polar research vessel, bought from Ukraine in 1994, is to carry out surveys in the Amundsen and Ross seas. A report by The Beijing News said that Xuelong’s crew would also visit Inexpressible Island in Terra Nova Bay on the Ross Sea to help in construction work on China’s fifth Antarctic scientific station, which is expected to be operational in 2022. How Chinese access to Chilean port could give Antarctic exploration activities a boost Since it joined the Antarctic Treaty in June 1983, China has steadily increased its stakes in a region that contains vast, untapped natural resources, including oil, gas and minerals. Last year, China announced it would begin building its first permanent airfield on Antarctica – a 1,500-metre strip to be located on an ice cap about 28 kilometres from Zhongshan Station. Meanwhile, Chinese businesses have taken an interest in the region. Food companies have been among the largest players in fishing for krill – tiny, protein-rich shrimp-like creatures that are abundant in Antarctic waters. Tourists from China now account for 16 per cent of the total number of travellers to the world’s last great untouched wilderness, second to visitors from the United States, according to the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators. While Beijing said its engagement in the Antarctic would be “peaceful” and the focus of its expeditions was on protecting the environment, its growing presence there has raised concerns in the West, particularly among established explorers such as Australia and the US. Australia said at the annual meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources in Hobart, Tasmania, this week, that despite opposition from China and Russia, it would push for the creation of marine reserves off East Antarctica. China’s new icebreaker Snow Dragon II ready for Antarctica voyage later this year China and Australia have also been at odds over Beijing’s proposal to establish a code of conduct for the region around Dome A on the Antarctic Plateau, an area on the top of the ice sheet ideal for space and satellite observation. Canberra rejected the proposal, saying that Dome A is inside its territory.