A rapid influx in the number of Chinese people looking to travel to the Antarctic is generating calls for new rules and guidelines to be laid out to protect both the people who travel there, as well as the highly-sensitive ecosystem.

The beautiful scenery of Antarctica. [Photo: nipic.com]

Ushuaia is the southernmost city in Argentina. As the jumping off point for Antarctica and the Southern Ocean, it welcomes over 100,000 visitors from all around the world every year.

According to the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators, 3,328 Chinese nationals visited the Antarctic continent last year, a ten-time increase from a decade ago.

At the same time, the growing number of tourists flocking to Antarctica brings concerns about the fragile ecosystem there.

Valeria Dreiser is an analyst from Academy of Tierra del Fuego in Argentina. She said related institutions and travel agencies have developed strict rules to restrict tourists' behavior, in a bid to protect the environment of the continent.

"Tourists must wear clean rubber boots for all landings; they are not allowed to touch penguins or walk beyond the designated areas; they cannot walk alone; No one can leave his/her personal belongings on the continent, nor can he/she take anything away, including stones."

Besides man-made rules, nature also sets boundaries for tourists. They need to be ready for sea-sickness, dry weather and high levels of UV radiation.

Wang Li has just concluded her tour to the South Pole.

"Sea-sickness is sometimes unavoidable, especially when you travel across the strong gusty westerlies between 40 and 60 latitudes. I brought fresh ginger, anti-sick patches that I placed on the skin behind the ears, pills, refreshing oil, peppermint oil and almost anything else I can think of, but I still felt very uncomfortable."

Another torture for tourists is the unexpected dry weather. In fact, the Antarctic is the driest continent on Earth partly due to its scarce annual precipitation. Furthermore, the level of UV radiation in Antarctica is very high because the sea, ice and snow reflect more sunlight.

"I wasn't aware of the two driest places in the world until I arrived in the South Pole. One is the Sahara desert, the other is Antarctica. The dryness there is beyond imagination. Be sure to take along sun lotion and moisturizer before the journey, and drink lots of water during the trip."

Last but not the least, the Antarctica tour comes with high levels of uncertainty. Everything is subject to weather and the state of the sea therefore the schedule could be changed at a moment's notice.

So if travelers want to take a close look at the South Pole, they need to be both patient and well-prepared.

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