Endless snow and glaciers, untouched coastlines and the thrill of following in the footsteps of renowned explorers are luring more Chinese to polar trips.
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A total of 3,367 Chinese visited the South Pole from November to March, comprising about 9 percent of the total number to the continent and ranking third after visitors from the United States and Australia, according to the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators.
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Chinese travelers to Antarctica comprised only 0.2 percent of the total 10 years ago, the association said. The travel season to the continent runs from November to March.
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"China's booming economy and a rapidly expanding middle class are making it one of the main clients for polar tourism," said Han Weitao, vice-president of Tripolers, the only Chinese travel agency to join the Antarctica operators association.
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Although there are no exact figures for visitors to the Arctic, Han said more people are considering going there and many are taking Arctic trips for a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
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"The numbers making polar tours will keep growing," Han said, adding that more than 400 have applied so far for this year's Antarctica and Arctic trips organized by the agency.
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Xiao Feng from Beijing feels the 52,800 CNY (8,627 USD) it cost her for an 18-day trip to Antarctica in January and February was money well spent. She celebrated her 70th birthday there.
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"When you are there, you can understand how powerful nature is," Xiao said, adding that every minute in Antarctica had been unforgettable.
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On the trip, she observed a penguin family and visited the Great Wall Station, China's first Antarctic research station built in 1985. She now plans to travel to the Arctic.
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Polar tour companies in China say prices for two-week trips to Antarctica range from 50,000 CNY to 200,000 CNY per person, while a North Pole trip varies from 160,000 CNY to 300,000 CNY.
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Although a journey to the North Pole is the more expensive, this didn't prevent Liang Yan from visiting the top of the world in 2011 on a Russian nuclear icebreaker. She believes the trip changed her life.
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Liang, who is in her 20s and comes from Beijing, said, "Once you hit the road, although your body becomes tired, you never lose the will to go on."
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While Chinese are opting increasingly for such travel, Han said the lack of commercial polar cruises and policies on polar tourism will influence its healthy development in China.
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Marine researcher Wang Zipan said the authorities should study policies to regulate polar tourism and encourage entrepreneurs to invest in it.
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Qu Tanzhou, director of the State Oceanic Administration's Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Administration, said polar tourism had surged in recent years and the authorities should study this new trend.
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"Polar tourism is open to the world, which definitely includes China, and proper guidance is needed," Qu said.
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However, Qu added that conditions in polar regions are harsh and when injuries occur, the minimum time for treatment is about 10 days.
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Besides safety concerns, debate on tourism's impact on the world's coldest regions is heating up.
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A study of penguins by the British Antarctic Survey has found a significant fall in the number of gentoo breeding pairs in Antarctica, but discovered no direct link with visitors.
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Under the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators' code of conduct, tourists cannot take anything to the continent, must keep noise to a minimum and keep at least 5 to 6 meters away from penguins, nesting birds and seals.
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The code also states that ships carrying more than 500 passengers cannot land in Antarctica, a maximum of 100 passengers a time are allowed on shore and each guide must accompany at most 20 passengers.
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From November to March, 37,405 global tourists visited Antarctica, an increase of 9 percent year-on-year, according to the association.Â