With the most votes, Ge Fei became one of the winners of the 9th Mao Dun Literature Prize. [File photo]

Ge Fei

Although winning the prize with the most votes, Ge Fei kept calm during an interview with Chinese media. He considered it would be an encouragement for all winners but didn't plan special celebrations.

"I'm happy for that, but I won't celebrate. I'm used to leading a simple life. So I ate instant noodles for lunch and porridge for supper with my wife, just like weekdays," he said.

He also told journalists that he was on vacation in Inner Mongolia last week, and got the news when he got off the plane in Beijing.

"I couldn't believe it before I read the news on line. It's the top literature awards in the country. I thought it would be good enough to become one of the top 10 before I went to Inner Mongolia. I spent a lot of effort on the work with more than 600,000 words. So winning the prize means a lot to me," he added.