HOUSTON - Twenty-eight Chinese students from colleges in eight southern US states received an annual Chinese government award here on Saturday.

At a ceremony at the Chinese Consulate General in Houston, Deputy Consul General Li Guixi handed out the 2012 National Scholarship for Outstanding Self-Financed Chinese Students abroad.

The recipients came from more than ten colleges in southern US states, and their majors cover physics, chemistry, optics, computer, environmental engineer and mathematics.

"The recipients are very outstanding Chinese students and many of them have papers published on professional magazines," said Consul Zhang Yiqun.

For the year of 2012, the award, which was established in 2003 by the Chinese government, was presented to 489 Chinese students pursuing diplomas abroad, according to Zhang

"Overseas students are valuable human resources of China and important contributors to the country's future construction and development," Li said at the awarding-ceremony.

The award was aimed to encourage overseas Chinese students to excel in their studies and better serve their country in the future, he said.

"The award is not only a honor, but also an encouragement to overseas Chinese students," said Wang Qing, an award-recipient from Tulane University. "We will continue to work hard and better serve our country after graduation," said Wang.

From 1978 to 2012, the number of overseas Chinese students totalled 2.64 million. In 2012, 399,600 Chinese students went abroad to study. More than 90 percent of the overseas Chinese students are self-financed, according to statistics from the Chinese Education Ministry.