Wang Xiaoshuai became the third Chinese movie director to receive the French Order of Arts and Letters on February 24.

The order is a top honor given by the French Ministry of Culture to recognize outstanding contributions to the fields of arts and literature.

Wang, 44, is a prominent member of China's sixth-generation moviemakers who entered filmdom at the turn of the 1990s. His first work, The Days (1993), is the only Chinese-language movie to make the BBC-compiled list of the top 100 greatest-ever films.

Wang's international honors also include two Silver Bear awards at the Berlin Film Festival for Beijing Bicycle (2001) and In Love We Trust (2008) and a Prix du Jury award at the Cannes Film Festival for Shanghai Dreams (2005).