China has published over 5,000 local chorographies which reflect economic and social development after the founding of the People's Republic of China.

 

China's 34 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions planned to compile at least 6,000 such historical records. The published accounted for 88.8 percent of the planned.

 

At an awarding ceremony Saturday for nationwide outstanding chorography compilers, Chen Kuiyuan, president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), said the voluminous local historical records would be the biggest compiling work in the half century.

 

Meanwhile, such books in Tibetan, Uygur and another dozen of ethnic languages were published for the first time, said Chen, who also heads a coordination group overseeing the nationwide chorography compilation.

 

"The historical records collected by grassroots compilers consist of a giant database of Chinese politics, economy and culture," Chen said.

 

The chorography office of Beijing's Haidian District and the rest 30 units and Qin Haixuan and the other nine people were awarded by the government for their excellent job.

 

(Xinhua News Agency April 1, 2006)