A dramatic work, The Beginning of Autumn, has been performed at least 600 times in China and abroad, explaining the Jin merchant culture with great effect and has won seven State-level prizes, including a Special Drama Award from the Party Publicity Department in its 10th Best Works Project for National Spiritual Civilization.

Shanxi University has taken part in the planning and design of scenic spots in Shanxi, such as the Prime Minister’s Palace in Jincheng, Shanxi Museum in Taiyuan, Wang Family Courtyard in Lingshi county, and old town of Qikou in Linxian county. Research by the university’s scholars includes the Study of the Mythology Popular in Southeast Shanxi and Chinese Civilization; Study of Historical Sites, Folk Customs and Legends in the Hometown of Yan Di in Shanxi; Dissemination of Yan-D-relatedi Culture in Gaoping; and Study of Yan Di Historical Site in Gaoping County, in Shangdang Area of Shanxi. These have helped develop a new mythology-related tourist route in the south of the province and the university has contributed a lot to the development of the tourist business in Shanxi.

The Chinese Society History Center has collected a large amount of grassroots archival documents related to rural society in Shanxi in the era of collectivization and has become a patriotic education bases in the province. ? ?

The Shanxi Dialect Corpus has recorded basic information on the dialects of 50 counties and cities and has had a positive effect on research in linguistics, the development of traditional culture, and the exploration of local cultures. ? ?

Shanxi University has taken part in research projects to provide information for policy-making by the government, with nine of them intended to provide policy-making advice for the provincial government’s 12th Five-year Plan (2011-2016). It has been in charge of a domestic education bidding project under the government’s key policy-making consultation topics and research on “A Study of Investment in Shanxi Province” in the earlier stage of the 12th Five-year Plan for the provincial reform commission. ? ?

Since 2008, Shanxi University has been sponsoring free public lectures for a “Chinese Classics Forum”, with the idea of “safeguarding the spiritual home of the Chinese nation” and has sponsored 50 lectures on average annually with 30,000 audience members. ? ?

The University has expanded the scope of its applied research and has signed cooperative education agreement with nine districts and cities in the province and has established an education union with large enterprises such as the Fenjiu Liquor Group, Yabao Pharmaceutical Co and Lu’an Group. ? ? The University’s key discoloring technology of low alcohol zhuyeqing liquor and technology for solid-substrate fermentation of mature vinegar and equipment improvement helped traditional industries with their upgrades. Its research in catalyst-making chemistry and a new catalytic system during the synthesis of fine chemicals derived from coal have had successful industrial applications in quite a few large domestic coal chemical enterprises, including the Sanwei Group. Its 1,4-Butanediol catalyst has replaced imported products and has broken an international monopoly, while its all solidified single-mode single-frequency green laser is now being mass produced and marketed in China and abroad. Its green ecological compound fertilizer project has seen universal applications in other provinces, such as Shandong and Hebei and the Inner Mongolia region, as well as 21 cities, counties and areas in Shanxi, on a total area of 667-million square meters. In addition, its research on a new type of infrared gas sensor, a veterinary medicine Pubaike, an intelligent writing system on an electronic board, a new type of environmentally friendly dust-free instruction tools, and a Junkangling fodder additive are being applied. ? ?

The university’s National University Science and Technology Park is an important window for colleges and universities to observe the economy and society of Shanxi and currently covers a 5,244-sq-m area, with 33 enterprises in electronics, information, biology, new medicines, chemical engineering, new materials, ecological protection, and high-tech services.