Recently, the Chinese version of the Guidelines for Continuously Operating Reference Stations in the IGS was officially released by the International GNSS Service (IGS). It is the first time that the Guidelines has been made available in an official Chinese translation. The release is of great significance for promoting the standardized development of high-precision GNSS reference stations in China and enhancing the alignment of Chinese GNSS infrastructure with international standards.

IGS announces the release of the Chinese version of the Guidelines (left) and the cover of the Guidelines (right) (https://files.igs.org/pub/resource/guidelines/Guidelines_for_Continuously_Operating_Reference_Stations_in_the_IGS_v1.0_CN.pdf)

The guidelines systematically define the technical requirements for the construction and operation of CORS stations, covering design, site selection, equipment configuration, signal quality control, data collection and processing, metadata management, quality assessment, and international data-sharing mechanisms.

The guidelines are organized into five chapters and includes detailed specifications ranging from station registration procedures and technical criteria to data formats, meteorological data collection, radio frequency interference mitigation, file naming conventions, and metadata compliance. The classification of “minimum construction standards”, “recommended technical measures” and “not recommended technical measures” enables GNSS stations at different stages of development to adopt standardized operations within a unified framework.

The release of the Chinese version addresses the long-standing reliance of Chinese-speaking GNSS practitioners on English documentation, significantly facilitating technical applications and research in fields such as surveying, navigation, seismic monitoring, and transportation. As one of the most widely adopted operational standards for GNSS reference stations globally, this guideline is expected to play a guiding role in advancing the development of China’s national CORS system and enhancing its spatial reference service capabilities.

The translation effort was led by Dr. Jianghui Geng (State Key Laboratory of Precision Geodesy, Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences). The translation team includes experts from three institutions: Dr. Junchen Xue (Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences), Dr. Haobo Li (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University), and Dr. Xinlei Luo (Wuhan University). All team members possess strong backgrounds in GNSS positioning, high-precision geodetic measurement, and geospatial reference frameworks. The team adhered strictly to the IGS technical terminology system to ensure professional, accurate, and readable translation quality.

The Chinese version of the Guidelines for Continuously Operating Reference Stations in the IGS is now officially available online and can be downloaded for free via the following link:

https://files.igs.org/pub/resource/guidelines/Guidelines_for_Continuously_Operating_Reference_Stations_in_the_IGS_v1.0_CN.pdf