China is further expanding its presence in the South Pole, an official announced after the country's only icebreaker Xuelong, or Snow Dragon, returned to its base in Shanghai after a 159-day expedition to Antarctica.

The country will build its fifth station in the Ross Sea area, said Qu Tanzhou, director of the State Oceanic Administration's Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Administration today.

The Xuelong team completed construction of the new Taishan Station's main building. It will be reserved for summer use and will provide logistical support to China's four other stations in the Antarctica. It will also be used as a base for scientific research.

China's other four South Pole stations are Changcheng, Zhongshan, Kunlun and Taishan.