Award-winning photos capture Suzhou gardens

From March 20 to 31, a photography competition called The Masters’ Gardens of Suzhou For Everyone Everywhere took Chinese social media by storm.

Within the 12 days, topics related to the event on social media platforms Weibo and Xiaohongshu garnered more than eight million views, according to contest organizer Suzhou Administrative Bureau of Garden and Landscaping.

A total of 1,874 entries from more than 200 participants were submitted.

72 photographic works showing the architecture, plants and rockeries of Suzhou classical gardens from different seasons and times of day, made the cut and are being featured at an exhibit at the Phoenix Center in Beijing, which kicked off on April 13.

In Mandarin, dajia can refer to both “master” and “everyone”. “The masters” in the theme refer to Suzhou garden owners who were historically high officials, business tycoons and artists. They also refer to the ingenious craftsmen who designed and built those gardens and the literati who penned and painted about them, said Cao Guangshu, director of the bureau.

After generations of inheritance and protection, Suzhou gardens are now no longer private residences but open to the public, belonging to dajia, everyone in the world, he added.

Let’s see the 10 best works from the contest.

A Bamboo Grove at Mountain Villa with Embracing Beauty by An Yu. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Ou Yuan, or Couple’s Retreat Garden by Xiao Junwei. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Lingering Garden by Yang Xiaofeng. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Humble Administrator's Garden at Sunset by Meng Jianfu. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Master of the Nets Garden by Xu Yuan. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The Night view of Master of the Nets Garden by Zhang Peiran. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

An Ancient Tree at Humble Administrator's Garden by Cai Chen. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Humble Administrator's Garden by Xu Jiapeng. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Traces of Time by Di Kexin. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Golden Maple Leaves at Humble Administrator's Garden by Ding Jia. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]