Tributes have poured in for Tu Youyou's achievement. Back home in China, she received a congratulatory letter from Premier Li Keqiang.
Premier Li said Tu's Nobel prize was a signal of China's scientific and technological progress, and a great contribution by traditional Chinese medicine to human health.
The World Health Organization was another to honor Tu's work. In a written statement, the WHO said the prize pays tribute to the contribution of Chinese science and traditional Chinese medicine for curing malaria and other infectious diseases.
File photo taken on Nov. 15, 2011 shows Chinese pharmacologist Tu Youyou presented with the "outstanding contribution" award at a meeting held by the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences in Beijing, capital of China.(Xinhua/Jin Liwang)