A Chinese survey team today became the first group to reach the peak of Mount Everest this year as part of a project to remeasure the exact height of the world's tallest mountain.
Eight Chinese mountaineers arrived at the summit of Mount Everest at 11am local time after climbing for nine hours, Chinese state media reported.
Telescope video camera footage released by state broadcaster CCTV Wednesday captures the extraordinary moment climbers reaching the summit point buried in deep snow.
A 53-member team from China's Ministry of National Resources has been conducting scientific work on Everest since early March.
At 2:10am local time Wednesday, eight Chinese climbers from the team set off from their base camp at an altitude of 5,200 metres (17,060 feet) on a conquest to reach the summit of the world's tallest mountain.
They completed the surveying work at around 1:30pm local time and started returning to the camp, Chinese media report.
China's network of Beidou satellites is being used in the survey to determine the mountain's current height and natural resources, state media Xinhua reported.
Data on snow depth, weather and wind speed is also being measured to aid in glacier monitoring and ecological protection.
Experts believe the ascent will enhance human knowledge of nature and help boost scientific development, according to state media Xinhua.
China has previously conducted six major surveys of the mountain, known in China as Qomolangma, since the establishment of the People´s Republic in 1949. The successful summiting today would mark the country' seventh conquest.
But only the surveying results from two ascents have been revealed to the public, according to the press. Mount Everest's height was registered by China at 8,848.13 metres (29,029 feet) in 1975 and 8,844.43 metres (29,017 feet) in 2005.
It comes after both China and Nepal cancelled the spring climbing season on the mountain that straddles their border in a bid to prevent the new coronavirus from spreading among expedition teams that typically live for weeks in tightly packed camps with little access to emergency medical help.
China has also taken advantage of the lack of climbers to collect garbage from Everest and other popular climbing peaks, the report said.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
