Icebreaker Xuelong is gearing up for China's 28th expedition to the South Pole, and experts said on Monday China's first self-made solar expedition will cast off in 2014.

According to the official website of the State Oceanic Administration, Xuelong will remain at the port of Tianjin before it sets sail for the South Pole Thursday. Until then it will be viewed by up to 3,000 people. 

 Xuelong will cover a journey estimated at 31,000 nautical miles and return to Shanghai in April 2012. A spokesman of the project in Shanghai was quoted by Xinhua as saying, citing 220 crew members on Xuelong will work on 31 scientific research assignments during the journey.

"Our country has to build a new polar scientific expedition ship to improve icebreaking capacity and meet the demand of multidisciplinary ocean research," Li Yuansheng, leader of China's 28th South Pole expedition team, told Xinhua.

He also said the functions of the Xuelong are quite limited when facing more complex scientific research tasks because it has some "congenital" disadvantages. For instance, an icebreaking capability that is not good enough and lack of a dynamic positioning system.

 "The new icebreaker will work together with Xuelong to carry on multidisciplinary research at both North and South Poles," added Li. "There's a division of labor for them, Xuelong will focus on goods transportation for the expedition while the new one will assist breaking the ice."

 Qu Tanzhou, director of the Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Administration,  told Xinhua that the National Development and Reform Commission has formally approved the plan to build a new icebreaker. The ship is now under construction with a target completion date for the end of 2013.

 According to the Xinhua News Agency, the State Oceanic Administration will solicit ideas for names beginning this month. The end of this year is said to be the earliest date for the announcement.

 During the past 27 years of Chinese pole scientific research, its expedition ships have developed from Xiangyanghong 10 to Jidi to Xuelong.

Xuelong, the third-generation scientific expedition vessel serving China, was imported from the Ukraine in 1993. It has successfully carried out 11 trips to the Antarctic and three to the Arctic since its first polar voyage in 1994. On August 6, 2010, Xuelong broke the record for Chinese maritime travel by reaching the highest latitude of 85°25'N.