The Chinese Antarctic Zhongshan station celebrated its 20th birthday on Thursday.

The station is the second Chinese research station in Antarctica and accommodates 60 scientists in the summer and 25 in the winter.

The station is well-equipped with living quarters, a power and water supply house, a meteorology house and several special observation huts for different scientific programs.

The station, built on February 26, 1989, is located south of Prydz Bay on the Mirror Peninsula, and east of the Larsemann Hills. It is used for research in marine, glaciological, geological and atmospheric sciences and for expeditions inland.

(Xinhua News Agency February 27, 2009)