President Xi gives China's 2016 Top Science and Technology Award to Tu Youyou on Jan 9. [Photo/Xinhua]

Zhejiang was recognized with 26 national awards for outstanding contributions to scientific and technological innovation at an award ceremony held in Beijing on Jan 9.

The 2016 China State Science and Technology Awards, aimed at encouraging scientific and technological progress, are the most prestigious awards for science and technology in China.

The 26 awards received by Zhejiang were attributed to 13 scientific and technological projects dominated by Zhejiang-based universities, companies and institutions, and 13 other projects of which Zhejiang was a participant.

Zhejiang University, with nine awards, ranked first among all the country's colleges and universities. Tu Youyou, a Zhejiang-born Nobel laureate, won the Preeminent Science and Technology Award – China's highest award for recognizing an individual scientist's contributions – for her discovery of artemisinin as a treatment for malaria.

A team from Zhejiang University won the Science and Technology Progress Award for its dedication to the development and utilization of clean energy, especially the efficient and clean utilization of coal resources. Achievements by the team have been put into large-scale application, leading to remarkable economic and social benefits. Other projects dominated by Zhejiang province received awards in natural sciences, technical inventions and scientific and technological progress.