With well-wishers lining the dock, the icebreaker Xuelong (Snow Dragon) set sail from Tianjin on Thursday for the country's 28th scientific expedition to Antarctica. [Photo by Zhou Wei/for China Daily]

Xuelong was purchased from Ukraine in 1993, and has a service life span of about 30 years. It has completed 27 research or supply expeditions to the Antarctic and three to the Arctic.

"Currently, Xuelong has only one engine and once it stops working potential danger will threaten lives on board, especially when passing the westerlies," Huang said, adding that after the upgrade the icebreaker will have two engines.

Besides enhancing the shipping capacity, planes that can fly in extreme climatic conditions will be bought and put to use in the next one or two years, Qu said.

"This will deepen the international cooperation in polar expedition and play a crucial role in emergency rescue," Qu explained.

Introduction of planes will help speed up the construction of China's aviation network in polar areas, Li said.

Li Xiang contributed to this story.