For 30-year-old Yue Han, driving the two hours from Santa Cruz to San Francisco was not just to pick up a check for $6,000 jointly awarded by the Chinese Consulate General and the China Scholarship Council, but also to start paving an academic route back to China.

Han and his wife are currently both PhD candidates in earth physics at University of California, Santa Cruz and are planning to apply for post doctorate positions in the US.

"After completing our post doctorate studies, we believe China would be a good option for us to develop our careers," Han's wife told China Daily in San Francisco.

The Chinese government has made some hefty investments in academic research in recent years, and the 1000 Talents Plan would be a good platform for them to find a university or institute in China to continue their scientific research, she explained.

"Beijing is our ideal destination if we return to China," she added.

As Chinapushes to cultivate world-class scientists, the 1000 Talents Plan aims to attract top-notch overseas talents who have the potential to become leaders in their fields.

The couple told China Daily there is a special program under the 1000 Talents Plan for young researchers who are under 40 years old, have obtained a doctorate degree in a world-class university and have at least three years of experience working overseas.

A total of 518 Chinese PhD candidates who are under 40 years old and from 29 countries around the world are the latest recipients of the award. The program was started in 2003 and has so far honored 3,396 people.

The 29 countries are: the US, Japan, UK, France, German, Canada, Australia, Russia, Singapore, Sweden, Holland, New Zealand, Ireland, Ukraine, South Korea, Finland, South Africa, Denmark, Belgium, Thailand, Austria, Switzerland, Norway, Belarus, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Israel and the Czech Republic.

"Student winners are selected through a rigorous process of evaluation of their academic and research work," said Yang Jun, education counselor at the Consulate General of China in San Francisco.

"When I got my bachelor's degree at Tsinghua University and came to the US four years ago, I thought a job offer from a big company in Silicon Valley would be perfect," said Zhao Liang, a PhD candidate in electrical engineering at Stanford University, who is among this year's 20 winners from the Bay Area.

"After four years' studying in Silicon Valley, I have fallen in love with the vibrancy of the startup culture but I've noticed that some of the best opportunities are on the Chinese mainland," he said.

Increasing numbers of venture capitalists are showing an interest in approaching the booming market in China by investing in startups, he said.

"Even if I begin my startup career in Silicon Valley, one or two years later I will expand to China for production," he added.