Chinese measurements of Mount Qomolangma
Print Edition
During Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)
The Manchurian and Han Chinese name for Qomolangma first appeared in “Huang Yu Quan Lan Tu,” or “Atlas of the Whole Imperial Territory,” following a mission sent by the Qing Dynasty government to survey and map Tibet around 1715.
The map, despite showing an accurate relative position of the mountain and its glaciers, did not publish its height, though historians said surveyors had brought measurement equipment such as a four-vernier, semi-circular protractor.
1975
Chinese surveyors measured Mount Qomolangma as standing 8,848.13 meters above sea level. It was recognized by the international community.
In this survey, the Chinese team, for the first time in human history, erected a survey marker atop Mount Qomolangma, allowing six survey points at the foot of the mountain to simultaneously measure the height of the peak.
2005
China remeasured the elevation of Mount Qomolangma, combining traditional geodetic methods and satellite technologies. The task adjusted the height after measuring the depth of the snow cap atop the summit.
The 2005 survey registered the summit’s rock height at 8,844.43 meters and its ice-snow layer at 3.5 meters deep. There was 1 meter of unknown material, probably a mixture of ice and gravel, between the rock head and the snow cap.
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