China granted its State Scientific and Technological Award Monday in Beijing to Ye Duzheng, an atmospheric physicist, and Wu Mengchao, a liver and gall specialist, the eighth and the ninth Chinese scientists to win the award.

Premier Wen Jiabao announced the decision to issue the award to prominent scientists at China's Fourth National Conference on Science and Technology, which opened in Beijing Monday morning.

Ye and Wu were each awarded 5 million yuan (about US$600,000) at the awarding ceremony.

Ye was born in 1916, the same year China began keeping a climate record. The 90-year-old Chinese scientist was the first person to stress the importance of the Tibetan Plateau, the world's largest highland with a spread over an area of 2.5 million square km and an average height over 4,500 meters, as a heat source in summer and a cold source in winter.

The monograph by Ye and his research group on the meteorology of the Plateau is widely considered a major contribution to the understanding of the general atmosphere circulating over Asia.

The professor also extended his studies to include the general circulation over the whole northern hemisphere and published one of the world first research papers on the dynamics of the general circulation.

Ye received in 2004 the top prize from World Meteorological Organization, the highest meteorological award worldwide.

Wu, liver and gall specialist and academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), served as vice president and deputy director of Society of Surgery of Chinese Medical Association, vice president of Sino-German Medical Association, president of Sino-Japanese Society of Surgery of Digestive Tract and member of International Association of Surgery.

As the founder of China's liver and gall surgery, Wu received such prizes as Medical Science Award of Chen Jia-Geng, Medical Sciences Award by Ho Leung and Ho Lee Foundation, and titled model medical specialist by Central Military Commission.

Since the award was established in 2000, nine Chinese scientists have received the 5-million-yuan top award, including Chinese hybrid rice developer Yuan Longping, mathematician Wu Wenjun and IT expert Wang Xuan.

(Xinhua News Agency January 9, 2006)