On the 27th of October 2016 Prof. dr. Philippe De Maeyer of the Geography Department of Ghent University was granted the Tianshan Award for foreign experts in Urumqi for his great contribution to the economic and social progress of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China.

Since 2005, Prof. Dr. Philippe de Maeyer has visited the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography several times. He contributed to the ongoing research on photogrammetry, remote sensing and GIS technology. The award was presented by Erken Tuniyaz, member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Regional Committee, vice-governor.