A series of books about folk culture in the Datong area of Shanxi province, compiled by Zhao Dianxi, a Datong scholar, has won the book of the year award for social science popularization in China.

"Dreaming Back to Datong" got the award at the 16th National Social Sciences Conference at Haikou, Hainan province, on Sept 15, which is meant to increase the public's understanding of the social sciences and practical sociological theories.

Social scientists from around the country gathered to exchange ideas, after which, the panel of judges evaluated a group of recommended works from each province to reach a decision. Zhao's work won because of its wealth of content, interesting structure, and an easy-to-understand language. Two other Shanxi works that got awards are "Shanxi Regional Culture" and "The Culture and History of Taiyuan".

Zhao's masterpiece, which took 50 years of hard work to finish, documents the history, anecdotes, and folk customs of Datong in four volumes, with 1.1 million characters in all, covering "Anecdotes", "Customs", "Allusions and History", and "Old Streets and Alleyways".