Yuan Longping was still in the field on the day of winning the prize. Yuan was praised as the backbone of the country
On September 17, after learning that the 12 Mu experimental field was in the flowering period, Yuan Longping made a special trip from Changsha, Hunan to Heqiao village, Hengdong County to check the seed production of 'third generation hybrid rice'. The seed production of 'third generation hybrid rice' will be used for double cropping late rice planting. On the same day, Yuan Longping and other 8 people were awarded the medal of the Republic.