The NGS Committee for Research and Exploration Chairman's Award, the top honor from the committee, recognized the excellent work of Hou, an NGS grantee who has contributed to new knowledge of the world, said Martha Church with the committee, who presented the award.

Hou received a grant from the committee in 1989 to "assess the garden history and geographical significance of two Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) parks in northern China."

Hou, now 90, was considered one of China's most productive geographers and his work has transcended the boundaries of natural and social science, Church said.

"He is really world-class," she said, adding that he was only the second recipient of the award, following Lee Berger, a paleontologist from South Africa, in 1997.

The Committee for Research and Exploration has funded more than 7,000 research projects and explorations around the world since 1890. At present some 280 requests for support of scientific field research and exploration are approved each year.

Hou, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, is especially known for his studies on desertification in northwest China which placed the country's historical geography at the forefront of such research throughout the world.

He is also a key figure in efforts to preserve the architecture and cityscapes of old Beijing and integrate them with the emerging modern metropolis.

The National Geographic Society, one of the largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations in the world, has increased its influence not only in China's academic area.

Through cooperation with more than 40 local television stations across the country, the National Geographic Channel is presenting two TV specials in Mandarin, attracting millions of Chinese viewers each week, said Ward Platt, managing director of NGC Network Asia.

(Xinhua News Agency October 26, 2001)