Arctic Yellow River Station

The Arctic Yellow River Station is a Chinese research facility in Ny-Ålesund housed in a two-story building covering about 500 square meters. It features laboratories, offices, common areas, and sleeping quarters for the researchers who work there.

The station was established in 2003 by China's Polar Research Institute, making China the eighth nation to operate an Arctic research facility. This marked an important step in expanding international presence for polar scientific work.

Scientists from around the world work side by side here to investigate the Arctic's light cycles and extreme conditions. The station represents a shared effort to monitor changes happening in one of Earth's harshest environments.

The facility sits at an extremely remote northern location and can be fully accessible only during certain seasons. Visitors should prepare for harsh Arctic conditions, including extreme cold and rapidly changing light patterns.

The station's location near 79 degrees north latitude allows study of microbial life within Arctic ice under conditions found nowhere else on Earth. This makes it a globally important location for understanding how life survives in extreme cold.

Location: Ny-Ålesund

Inception: 2003

GPS coordinates: 78.92320,11.93450

Latest update: December 10, 2025 16:22