In 1991, the Chinese government planned to send a scientific expedition to the Arctic for expeditions.
But at that time, the Arctic land was already occupied by major powers such as Russia and the United States.
If we want to go to scientific research, we must apply to one of the two countries, and we can go ashore with consent.
But even so, when the time comes, our various inspection work will be carried out under the supervision of the other side.
If you are not careful, you may also face the result of "deportation".
Just when the mainland expedition team did not know what to do, the University of Bergen in Norway threw an olive branch to the Chinese expedition team.
The university graciously invited gao Dengyi, a famous explorer from the mainland, to participate in academic activities in the local area.
During the event, Gao Dengyi received a book called "South of the Arctic".
The contents of the Svalbard Treaty are recorded in more detail in this book, and Gordon Yi looked through the list of signatory countries and found that it said China, and he was instantly ecstatic and hurried to verify the matter.
The past was finally revealed, and the treaty was signed in 1925. At that time, China's internal and external troubles, lack of skills, was forgotten by China for a full 66 years.
To this day, it has played a miraculous role in the exploration of the Arctic, which has suddenly made countries envious.
So, not only are some people curious, but at that time, China was already unable to take care of itself, so why did it have to sign this treaty?
After the founding of New China, it declared that all unequal treaties had been abolished.
And what is the significance of the trip to Donbass, which made the expedition team think about it, for the country?
Arctic scenery
For the answers to these questions, let's first take a look at the Arctic lands under the treaty.
One. Excavations and contention for Svalbard by countries of the world
In recent years, with the development of economy and science and technology and the improvement of scientific research conditions, human beings have begun to explore the earth.
The earth is the home of human beings, but to this day, people have a lot of ignorance about this homeland, especially for some no-man's land, hiding many exciting surprises and secrets.
So since the 17th century, humans have explored these unknown areas, including the desirable Antarctic and Arctic.
As early as the 12th century, a Norwegian accidentally discovered that there is a small island in the Arctic, but this archipelago is located in the Arctic Ocean, and the natural conditions are very harsh, which is not suitable for long-term human habitation.
So it wasn't until 1596 that the Dutch seafaring explorer William Barronchi named the island "Svalbard", which means "cold coast", and the island contains very rich coal resources and rare biological research resources.
And such a rare island does not belong to any country.
Total solar eclipse over Svalbard
In the beginning, only the Netherlands and the United Kingdom found that Svalbard could be better whaling, and after they made a windfall from whaling here, whaling ships from other Western countries followed, so Svalbard became an open Western whaling site.
In order to keep their own country's whaling cause unaffected, each country quickly divided its own sphere of influence on the coast to avoid conflict with each other.
As people came here to hunt whaling, the whaling industry began to decline, and the island lost its economic value, so for a long time it was "anonymized" in the world.
It was not until many years later that the rich mineral resources of the island were gradually excavated, and the countries re-launched a new round of Svalbard war.
Later, more and more countries discovered this special island.
After full preparation, these countries sent excellent scientific research teams into the small island to carry out scientific research work, and even some merchants landed on the island to engage in some activities.
Over time, it is inevitable that large or small frictions will occur between countries due to the distribution of benefits.
With the deepening of contradictions, even the people of some countries have fought hard here without scruples.
Svalbard
Two. Signing of the Treaty of Svalbard
In order to better govern this uninhabited island, and in order to rationally develop and utilize the resources here, several major countries in the world began to discuss the ownership of this small island, including France, the United States, the United Kingdom and other countries.
In 1920, they signed the Treaty of Svalbard, which stipulated that the island belonged to Norway, but the residents of the countries that signed the treaty did not need a visa to enter the island, where they could engage in scientific research and enjoy permanent residency.
Several of the countries that signed the Treaty of Svalbard soon entered the island and began their scientific work.
Seeing that other countries are at the forefront of the road of science and technology, China is naturally not willing to fall behind, and we know too well how tragic the lesson of being backward is to be beaten.
After the founding of New China, it gradually carried out economic and scientific and technological development until 1991, when China sent a scientific expedition team to try to go to the Arctic for expeditions.
However, since the land of the Arctic was already occupied by major powers such as Russia and the United States, if we wanted to engage in scientific research, we had to apply to one of the two countries, and we could only investigate after we agreed.
Arctic wonders photographed by the National Expedition
Three. Gao Denyi discovered that China was also a party to the Treaty of Svalbard
Just when the mainland expedition team did not know what to do, the University of Bergen in Norway threw an olive branch to China.
The university graciously invited the famous mainland explorer Gao Dengyi to participate in academic activities in the local area, and during the event, Gao Dengyi received a book called "South of the Arctic".
The content of the Svalbard Treaty is recorded in more detail in this book, and Gordon Yi looked through the list of signatory countries and found that it actually said China, and he was instantly ecstatic, and afterwards reported the news to his superiors.
Arctic scenery
The Chinese government has justifiably put forward its own demands to the international side, and with the full support of the state, China has finally joined the scientific expedition of Norway, the Soviet Union, and Iceland.
After many years, China and Svalbard have been able to renew their frontiers, and the Arctic has opened its doors to China.
Soon after, the Chinese scientific expedition team went to the Arctic to conduct scientific research, and even established a mainland scientific research expedition in the Arctic, which is undoubtedly a big progress for China's scientific research development.
In fact, this treaty was signed in 1925, when China was worried about internal and external troubles, and it was completely unskilled, so it shelved the matter of exploration in the Arctic.
Silver-clad Arctic
After the first signing of the Svalbard Treaty, more and more countries began to covet the rich resources of the island, so in 1925, the Svalbard Treaty was re-signed, and China was forced to join this time.
China was already taking care of itself, so why did it have to sign this treaty?
Because China was also one of the victorious countries in World War I, but of the 18 countries that signed the Svalbard Treaty, only Japan was an Asian country, and the rest were basically European countries.
This made the treaty lose its binding force in the Asian region, but the Svalbard Treaty was an international treaty after all, with strong credibility, so the French government at that time asked the Beiyang government to send representatives to Paris to sign the Svalbard Treaty.
The Beiyang government was actually reluctant to sign it, they thought it was just an unequal treaty, but at that time, France's attitude was very tough, and the Beiyang government had no choice but to sign this treaty that did not seem to make sense at the time due to the coercion and coercion of France.
Thus, China joined the ranks of the 51 treaty states.
The Beiyang government celebrates the victory of the First World War
But in fact, this is undoubtedly a mockery of China, after the Opium War, other countries believe that China can no longer pose any threat to them, so they pretend to appease emotions, which allows China to join the treaty.
Because at that time our country did not have the capacity and energy to explore the Arctic, the signing of the Svalbard Treaty was of no real use.
However, the Beiyang government at that time was equivalent to a "vulnerable group" in front of the French, and they could only bear to sign this treaty when they were forced to be helpless.
At that time, the Beiyang government probably did not think that the signing of this treaty would have any good impact on China's future development, but was afraid that people would think that China was weak and deceitful, so they quietly signed it at that time and did not announce it to the outside world.
In the eyes of the Beiyang government at that time, it was a shame to sign such a treaty, but thirty years of Hedong and thirty years of Hexi, what is unexpected is that this treaty has brought a turnaround for the development of China's scientific research technology a few years later.
Expeditions in the Arctic
In fact, before the signing of this treaty, the Soviet Union had always attached great importance to this small island, after all, there were a large number of scarce resources on the island, so the Soviet Union's attitude was very positive, and it thought of many ways to win Svalbard into its own hands.
At that time, many countries were salivating over the island's coal resources, and it was precisely to avoid the conflict between countries over the ownership and development rights of this small island, so the treaty was drawn up.
By signing the treaty, China recognizes Norway's sovereignty over Svalbard and its right to direct exploration of the Arctic, while Norway will need to work to maintain the region's natural topography and de-armaments.
Svalbard is probably not very familiar to many people, in fact it is now an overseas archipelago of Norway.
Its geographical location is very unique, so the scenery of the island is also very beautiful, the blue sky, snow white clouds and fresh air attract countless tourists, and many residents of the mainland come here every year.
Treaty of Svalbard
The Treaty of Svalbard stipulates that Svalbard "shall never be used for the purposes of war", and the area became the first and only demilitarized zone in the Arctic, with citizens of the Contracting States freely accessible to and freely engage in scientific research, proper production and corresponding commercial activities, without violating Norwegian law.
At that time, the former Soviet Union had already carried out mineral mining and hunting activities in the area, and also built an airfield here, and even had regular flights between the mainland and Longyearbyen.
Although for many years after the signing of the treaty, the mainland was busy with the outside world, and while other countries were enthusiastically exploring the Arctic, the mainland almost forgot about the treaty in the chaos of war, but fortunately, the treaty was revived in 1991.
In the period from 1999 to 2003, the Chinese Xuelong entered the Arctic research station three times, not only collected a large number of scientific research data, but also achieved world-leading research results in polar research, in addition, in 2004, the mainland also established the Chinese Yellow River Scientific Expedition Station in the Arctic, which is the eighth Arctic scientific research station established in Svalbard in the world.
Stunning night views over Svalbard
Obviously, after a period of hard work and accumulation, the continent's bipolar exploration and scientific research capabilities have gradually matured, and it is no longer the weak and small country that once said that "the understanding of the two poles is blank" as those powerful countries once said.
Some people can't help but wonder why the Svalbard Treaty is still effective after many years after the signing of the Svalbard Treaty, and after the founding of New China, it has declared that many of the previous treaties are not recognized.
In fact, for new China, our attitude toward the unequal treaties that have been signed is rejected, and these former equality treaties are still relatively recognized, which is not China's opportunism and scoundrels.
In recent history, the mainland has suffered humiliation, and although it is the result of its own backwardness, it is undeniable that during this period we have made considerable contributions and sacrifices to world peace.
A scientific research station established by China in Antarctica
According to relevant records, after the end of the First World War, the mainland sent as many as 300,000 laborers to the European battlefield to support the construction, during which 50,000 laborers died in a foreign land, and China, as a victorious country in World War I, Germany also had to transfer the privilege of Shandong to the brazen Japan.
Under such circumstances, China still did not take the initiative to break world peace, but used appropriate means to protect its own interests and sovereignty.
After the signing of the Svalbard Treaty, France forcibly "invited" China to participate, first, to appease the Beiyang government, and second, to win over allies against the powerful Britain and the United States, to put it bluntly, to make China their pawn against Britain and the United States.
Whatever France's purposes, it seems today that the treaty must have done more advantages than disadvantages to China, and it is precisely because of this treaty that China can exercise its legitimate rights and interests in Svalbard.
The special circumstances of the Svalbard Treaty
As one of the contracting states, the mainland is one of the owners of Svalbard's wealth, and we can conduct reasonable exploration and commercial activities here without having to look at the faces of other countries.
However, historical experience has told us more than once that development will also cause damage, and excessive development will inevitably break the balance of nature, and it is precisely because of this that the protection of the environment is particularly important.
The Arctic and Antarctic not only have a large number of rich mineral resources, which can largely meet the development needs of various countries, but also because of their very special geographical location, climatic conditions and soil resources, so they have very high research value, once the research has a breakthrough, it is likely to improve or even completely solve the desertification control in the northern part of the continent, so it is very important for the protection of the polar environment.
Animals on Svalbard
Four. Protection of Svalbard
Visitors to and from Svalbard must abide by every prohibition here, no littering, no harm to animals, no picking of flowers and plants... For the cold polar regions, any kind of creature is an extremely rare species, and they can survive such harsh environmental conditions, indicating that these tenacious beings are more worthy of respect.
Norway has established a number of parks and protected areas on Svalbard and has been committed to protecting the animals and plants here, and nearly 60% of the entire island is valued and protected.
Even in non-protected areas, there are seasonal and animal breed restrictions on hunting.
Due to Norway's good protection of the natural environment on the small island, the island's life has been able to reproduce rapidly, and according to statistics, as many as 164 species of plants, 4 species of mammals and more than 160 species of birds have been found in Svalbard.
Strolling through the natural beauty of Longyearbyen, we can almost often see a few docile reindeer slowly foraging.
The Chinese expedition team went to the Arctic to investigate
When the Chinese expedition team came here to investigate, two cute Arctic foxes have been moving near the team's residence, they are not afraid of humans to hurt them, and it is rare for animals to trust humans so much, which shows that people in Svalbard have enough protection of animals to give them a sense of security.
In addition to paying great attention to the protection of animals, the Norwegian authorities have not slackened in protecting the surface.
In Longirbin, motor vehicles cannot leave the prescribed driving routes; In New Oresson, pedestrians must walk in a disciplined manner and cannot walk around at will, so as not to harm the vegetation; Not only that, but littering is not allowed on this desolate and vast island.
Once, Professor Gao Dengyi came here for a scientific expedition, and when he left, he wanted to take a withered edelweiss flower as a souvenir, but Norwegian scientists did not allow it, although the flower has withered, but it is also extremely precious for the cold Svalbard.
Scientist Gordon Yoshi
Svalbard's place on Earth is unique, as it is a unique presence throughout the Arctic.
The archipelago and the surrounding sea are very easy to access to high latitudes, so it is equivalent to a transit point, which makes Svalbard attract not only scientific expeditions from various countries, but also countless tourists from all over the world.
It is both a scientific expedition base in the Arctic and a rare tourist attraction.
Svalbard is full of pristine beauty, but at the same time nature is also very fragile, everyone who comes here is careful, for fear of destroying the rare grass and trees here, there is a sentence in the "travel guide" of the island: Remember, you are just a guest, please do not litter in the Arctic!
People on the island are doing their best to protect these "ice kings", even if they encounter polar bears in the town, people will never easily hurt them, for precious polar bears, the Norwegian government has also specially promulgated relevant laws, if you encounter this more ferocious animal, you must take the initiative to avoid, in addition to self-defense is not allowed to shoot them, and polar bears are also the "image ambassador" of the entire Arctic region.
Cute polar bears
Five. China's strength is the fundamental reason why the mainland occupies a place in bipolar scientific expeditions
Some people say that it was because of the signing and discovery of the Treaty of Svalbard that the Yellow River Station was successfully established.
In fact, the most fundamental reason why China has been able to achieve such results in the field of scientific expeditions is china's own strength.
At that time, the mainland proved its strong strength through the Antarctic Great Wall Station, and in the international community, only if it is strong enough can it win the respect of other countries and have the right to speak.
Previously, when China was still worrying about how to feed itself, the world's great powers had begun to look at both ends of the earth.
In December 1952, 12 countries took the lead in arriving in Antarctica, and in order to reduce contradictions and jointly explore the Antarctic region, these 12 countries jointly signed the Antarctic Agreement.
Similar to the Svalbard Treaty, this seemingly fair agreement is full of selfish intentions of several developed countries, who are worried that it is too ugly to eat and cannot openly occupy some of Antarctic resources because of their face.
The land of Antarctica is covered with flags of other countries
In September 1983, the Twelfth Consultative Conference of the Antarctic Agreement was held, and China also received an invitation letter, so naturally we also wanted to contribute to the protection and development of Antarctica, so we gladly participated, but things were more complicated than we thought, and backward China suffered endless humiliation.
At the meeting site, each country was divided into two categories: Allied and Contracting States, what is the difference between the two?
Only the Allies had executive powers, the Contracting States did not have much decision-making power, and China was classified as a Contracting State.
At the time of the subsequent vote, China was even directly invited out of the conference room, and the allies explained that China's Antarctic expedition was almost zero-based, and there was no understanding and contribution to Antarctica, so such a country did not need to express its opinion.
Because of this humiliation, Guo Kun, a member of the Chinese delegation, once said that it was necessary to establish a scientific research station belonging to China in Antarctica.
In November 1984, the first batch of antarctic scientific expeditions from Shanghai set off from Shanghai with great enthusiasm, and on February 20 of the following year, the mainland established the first scientific research station in antarctica- the Great Wall Station, so fast and so efficient that it completely shocked the rest of the world.
After this, the mainland also established Zhongshan Station, Kunlun Station and other scientific research stations, the Chinese scientific expedition team members not only climbed to the "inaccessible pole", but also achieved very excellent results, other so-called powerful countries have to believe that at this time China is no longer a weak "sick man of East Asia", its strength can not be underestimated!
China is after itself is strong, only after the recognition and respect of the world, therefore, in 1991, the Svalbard Treaty came in handy, just the so-called scientific and technological power, we should study hard, master advanced science and technology, other countries dare not disrespect us.