[citation needed] Built at the Kherson Shipyard in Ukraine, Xue Long started her life as a Project 10621 icebreaking cargo and supply ship designed for the Russian Arctic.

In addition to a Kamov Ka-32 "Xueying" (Snow Eagle) helicopter, the ship also carries an Arctic-class ARV autonomous underwater vehicle on a regular basis.

In the summer of 2012 Xue Long became the first ship from the People's Republic of China to cross the Arctic Ocean to Europe amid the record ice melt.

It departed Iceland on 20 August, sailed past Svalbard—without stopping to visit China's Arctic Yellow River Station—and made a run at the North Pole, falling short.

[25] The highest latitude reached on that voyage was 87°37' N.[26] In 2017, Xue Long circumnavigated the Arctic, transiting both Northern Sea Route and Northwest Passage.

CCTV had video of sailors removing large blocks of ice, and China's Ministry of Natural Resources reported damage to the foredeck and mast.

[30] It was heading eastward from Zhongshan Station when it was dispatched along with several other icebreakers by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority to free Akademik Shokalskiy which had become trapped in ice off the East Antarctic coast.

[31] By 27 December, Xue Long, closed to within 6 nautical miles of the Akademik Shokalskiy, but had stalled in its efforts to complete the rendezvous due to encountering thick ice.

[33][34] On 30 December, after all three icebreakers had failed to penetrate the icepack, a decision was reached to use Xue Long's helicopter to evacuate the 52 passengers off Akademik Shokalskiy, but the flights were grounded due to continuing extreme weather conditions.

[38] On 4 January 2014, the American icebreaker Polar Star was dispatched to assist Akademik Shokalskiy and Xue Long at request of the Chinese and Australian authorities.

Satellite imagery from the Australian authorities led the search for the aircraft to an area in the Indian Ocean, approximately 2,500 km (1,600 mi) south-west of Perth.