Oil tanks at Zongshan Base, Antarctica
Photograph by Alex Paton
Zhongshan is a Chinese station in the eastern Antarctic, within the Australian Antarctic Territory. It was established in 1989 on the Larsemann Hills, a relatively ice-free zone to the east of Prydz Bay (both named after Norwegian whalers). We were shown round by eager young men (the outside world impinges but once a year, in the form of a supply vessel) who told us about their meteorological and communications research, and said we could photograph whatever we liked. Returning to Reception in mid-morning, I declined the offer of a bottle of Chinese beer, because I was anxious to see the abandoned Russian Progress II site half a mile away. Walking along the dirt road that skirted the huts, I was stopped in my tracks by the sight of five oil tanks decorated with Chinese opera masks. Such a bizarre discovery in an almost colourless landscape momentarily eclipsed the object of our expedition: to search for the Emperor penguin.
Alex Paton
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