Living in Harmony with Nature: Penguins and Seagulls at Changcheng Station

The seagulls at the Changcheng Station are playing in the Seagull Lake (February 10th photo).

Recently, the polar research icebreaker ‘Snow Dragon 2’ docked near the Changcheng Station to unload cargo. During the unloading period, the reporter interviewed the research personnel at Changcheng Station and saw that they protected the environment and lived in harmony with nature.

Changcheng Station is China’s first Antarctic scientific research station, completed in February 1985, located on George VI Island in the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica. There is a group of seagulls living in the station area, their home – Seagull Lake, is adjacent to the living area of the Changcheng Station research personnel, less than 60 meters apart, and connected by a rare patch of yellowish-green moss.

Occasionally, one or several penguins would visit the edge of Seagull Lake and the coast near Changcheng Station, either wandering between them or sleeping in one place, peacefully coexisting with the research personnel, as if they were a family.

Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Shi Ping photo

Seagulls in the Changcheng Station area (February 9th photo). Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Shi Ping photo

Seagulls in the Changcheng Station area (February 8th photo). Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Shi Ping photo

Inside Changcheng Station, on one side are the research personnel unloading cargo, and in Seagull Lake, the seagulls are playing in the water (February 9th photo). Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Shi Ping photo