China awarded 22 literary works on environmental protection Thursday, in an effort to encourage the literary circle to help raise people's awareness about environmental protection.

The awarding was co-sponsored by the State Environmental Protection Administration and the Chinese Writers Association.

The 22 winning works were selected from over 2,200 candidates, all focused on environmental protection.

Meanwhile, 27 veteran writers were awarded the first National Award for the Contribution to the Development of Environmental Literature and five institutions were granted an award for their efforts to organize environment-related literature.

(Xinhua News Agency August 1, 2003)