The Cryosphere Research Station on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (hereafter CRS), Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources (NIEER), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), founded in 1987, aims to address frontiers in cryosphere sciences and key needs of socio-economic development.

CRS consists of two campuses in Lanzhou and Golmud city, which are research center and logistic base of field work, respectively. There are 21 staff members as of 2021, including 4 professors, 3 associate professors, 14 assistant professors and engineers. Three of the professors are funded by the "Hundred Talents Program" of the CAS.

There are four research fields at CRS, i.e., 1) Characteristics and dynamics of permafrost, 2) Land surface processes and mechanism in the permafrost regions, 3) Ecological characteristics and evolution in the permafrost regions, and 4) Cryosphere disasters monitoring, service and function evaluation, supported by the State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science, NIEER, CAS and the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) of China.

CRS has constructed 12 comprehensive field stations across the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) for permafrost, snow cover, meteorology, soil and ecology monitoring, which are located at Xidatan, Wudaoliang, Tanggula, Liangdaohe, Aerjin, Zhuonaihu, Mahanshan, Tianshuihai, Kunlun Pass, Tien Shan, Muli and Gaize, 3 of which are selected as the standard demonstration stations in the Global Cryosphere Watch (GCW) under the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

CRS has successively acquired research funds, up to 41.4 million CNY of the total 24 research projects in recent five years, from the Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), MOST and CAS. More than 280 scientific papers have been published since 2010.

CRS has established cooperative relationship with many universities and research institutions in China and abroad, including the Aerospace Information Research Institute (AIR), CAS, Nanjing University, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, University of Alaska at Fairbanks, Lund University, the Melnikov Permafrost Institute in Yakutsk and Mongolian Academy of Sciences, etc.