A series of awards were presented in Beijing on Tuesday to people and agencies who have contributed to the development of China's education industry over the past year.

The annual awards, called the Golden Wings, were launched by Chinese internet technology company NetEase's education channel in 2009. The theme of this year's awards was exploring the future of China's education.

Zhou Chenggang, president of New Oriental Education & Technology Group's overseas study consultancy arm Vision Overseas, won the award for outstanding contribution to education in 2016.

Actress Zhu Yuanyuan won an award for her role in TV series A Love for Separation, which tells the story of Chinese parents who send their children away to study overseas at an early age. Zhu played the role of a mother who tries to give her daughter the best education possible, a performance that resonated with many Chinese parents.

Education agencies and companies JJL Overseas Education, TAL Education Group and EF Education First were also awarded at the ceremony.

Zeng Guangming, vice president of NetEase Media & Technology Group, said in his keynote speech that China's education system is improving all the time, but it is still far from ideal.

"In that sense, it still has a long way to go, and the future of it relies on every one of us," he said.

Gu Mingyuan, honorary chairman of the Chinese Society of Education, said that basic principles and ideas must be adhered to even in an era of rapidly evolving technology.

"The introduction of information technology and the internet has greatly changed the education environment and teaching approaches, but we should know that these technologies are just tools," he said.

"The core of education is still people — teachers and students, their interaction and the affection between them. People cannot be replaced."