Distinguished Professor Wang Di from the University of Macau’s (UM) Department of History recently received the Best Book in Non-North American History Award from the Urban History Association, for his book The Teahouse Under Socialism: The Decline and Renewal of Public Life in Chengdu, 1950-2000.

The Best Book in Non-North American History Award is an important award in the field of urban history, which is presented biennially. The award committee praises Prof Wang’s book for making a valuable contribution not only to the studies of Chinese and global urban history, but also to public understanding of civil society and the public sphere in non-Western contexts.

The book took Prof Wang more than ten years to complete. It discusses in detail the transformation of public life in Chengdu and the social and economic activities of ordinary people at that time, making use of anthropological and sociological techniques and theories, and drawing on various municipal sources, newspapers, diaries, and personal records, along with the collection of personal stories and oral histories of teahouse culture.

This is the second time that Prof Wang has won this award. In 2005, his book Street Culture in Chengdu: Public Space, Urban Commoners, and Local Politics, 1870-1930, also received this award.