Sun presented a flag to the director of the expedition, Wang Jinhui, at the ceremony, which was held at the mouth of the Pearl River.

Long Wei, deputy head of the Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Administration, said the research team will conduct comprehensive biological investigations, as well as monitoring of the water, atmospheric, environmental and pollutant distribution in the Prydz Bay area of East Antarctica, the Astronaut Sea, the Ross Sea, the Amundsen Sea and waters adjacent to the Antarctic Peninsula.