The map has something to say
Readers who like history and geography know that the continent is vast, with a land area of 9.6 million square kilometers and territorial waters of about 4.7 million square kilometers.
But what many people don't know is that the mainland still has an "overseas enclave" in Europe? Chinese citizens can come and go freely and stay as long as they want, without the need to pass through any country's visa. What is its name? Where exactly is it located in Europe?
The name of this "overseas enclave is Svalbard."
Svalbard, which means "cold coast", consists of West Spitsbergen, Northeast Island, Eti Island, Barents Island, etc., with a total area of about 62,000 square kilometers.
Svalbard is located in the Arctic Ocean, within the Arctic Circle, between the Barents Sea and the Greenland Sea, so it is very cold here, no one has been to such a cold place before, so it was discovered very late.
According to the Icelandic Chronicle, Svalbard was first discovered by the Norwegians in 1194, but the Norwegians mistook it for part of Greenland and named it Spitsbergen instead of Svalbard.
Until 1596, in order to find a new route to China through the North Pole, the Dutch explorer Barents led a fleet here, and saw an island almost completely covered in ice and snow ahead, and some steep peaks stood on the snow, which stunned everyone, so he named it "Svalbard".
Unfortunately, while wintering on the north coast of Novaya Zemlya , Barents died of lack of food, drink and scurvy, and did not have time to "declare territorial ownership of the archipelago in the name of His Majesty the King", (at that time, Europeans did this, declaring it sovereign) resulting in the archipelago becoming terra nullius.
If there is no sovereignty, there is no sovereignty, and if this place has no resources, then probably no one really cares!
However, a large amount of coal and fishery resources were found in the Slarba Islands, and the Norwegians, Russians, British, French, etc. claimed their interests in the archipelago, quarreling with each other, and no one wanted to give up this big fat meat.
In 1919, just after the First World War, all countries were devastated to varying degrees, and Russia was in the middle of a civil war and had no time to take care of it, so the European powers "met every day and bargained", and finally reached a compromise.
On February 9, 1920, 18 countries, including Britain, the United States, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, and Italy, signed the Treaty of Svalbard in Paris.
The treaty recognized Norway's "full and complete sovereignty" and that the area "may never be used for war purposes". However, citizens of each contracting State have autonomous access to engage in legitimate production and commercial activities within the scope of compliance with Norwegian law.
In 1925, in order to make the Svalbard Treaty recognized by all countries in the world, France pulled a number of countries to join the treaty, including China, which was in the period of the Beiyang government.
At first, Duan Qirui refused, but because of France's face, he finally sent someone to sign the contract.
It was this move that left a surprise for future generations.
According to the Svalbard Treaty, China, as a signator, can freely enter and exit the Svalbard region Chinese without the need to apply for a visa, and can stay as long as it wants.
Therefore, in 2004, in accordance with the Svalbard Treaty, the mainland established the Chinese Arctic Yellow River Station in Svalbard for scientific research in the Arctic region, which is the eighth Arctic research station in the world.
The polar scenery of Svalbard is very beautiful, Chinese can be freely accessed, no visa is required, if you have the opportunity, will you visit here?