China's female volleyball team was nominated on Thursday for the Touching China 2019 award, a national prize recognizing those who took part in events that touched people nationwide. 

There are 21 nominees in total, also including Ye Peijian, chief commander and chief designer of Chang'e 1, firefighters in the Sichuan fire and virologist Gu Fangzhou. 

China won the 2019 FIVB Women's World Cup in Osaka, Japan this September, securing the title and delivering a perfect 11-0 record shortly before the country's National Day.

The Touching China 2019 selection commission gave the following comments based on the team's performance:

"In the 80s of the last century, China's female volleyball realized five consecutive championship titles with their fighting spirit, setting up role models for the Chinese people. In the past three decades, the charisma of China's female volleyball team has only been strengthened with their fans spreading all over the country and their spirits transcending over generations

"At the dawn of the 2019 China's national day, China crowned the 2019 World Cup with a perfect 11-0. This is also the tenth world championship China's female volleyball team claimed, across volleyball's three major competitions. The achievement they made is a representation of their hard work, and serves as a witness to the rising China."

China's female volleyball team has been awarded Touching China awards four times before:

In 2003, the then head coach Chen Zhonghe led China to the World Championship.

At the 2004 Athens Olympics Games, China recovered from two sets down to edge Russia for gold.

In 2015, head coach Lang Ping led China team back to the world top league, reestablishing the country as a volleyball powerhouse on the global stage.

In 2016, China won the 2016 Rio Olympics, beating Serbia 3:1.