The visual feast of Snowflake Beer’s ancient architecture photography competition is underway once again; this year’s shooting theme will focus on a unique component of Chinese ancient architecture—dougong (bracket sets). The origin and development of dougong have a very long history. As a detailed structure in Chinese ancient buildings, it showcases remarkable artistry and ingenuity in both aesthetics and engineering. Whether viewed from an artistic or technical perspective, dougong is a symbol and representation of the spirit and essence of classical Chinese architecture. On May 18, Snowflake Beer officially launched its large-scale annual brand event for 2015, “Snowflake Pureborn Artisan-Crafted,” the China Ancient Architecture Photography Competition, and now the Shanghai region has officially kicked off as well.
According to Yuan Yi, Marketing Director of CR Snow Breweries Shanghai Sales Branch, the Shanghai regional selection competition is open to all photography enthusiasts in the city. The submission deadline for the competition is August 15. During the event period, there will also be salon lectures related to ancient architecture, as well as short and long-distance photography outings, making it a grand photography event themed around ancient architecture. Awards for all categories will be presented by the end of September. Winners of the long-distance outings will have the opportunity to participate in the headquarters’ large-scale themed photo outing event in October 2015, [Snowflake Pureborn Artisan-Crafted · Dougong], where they can compete for top honors.
To enrich the event content and further promote knowledge about Chinese ancient architecture, Snowflake Beer will organize public welfare photography lectures during the submission period as well as a photography outing in Jiangsu’s [Zhouzhuang]. From the [Zhouzhuang] short-distance outing, one participant will be selected, along with five chosen by expert judges from the preliminary selections and four selected by public vote, totaling ten participants who will join the long-distance outing [In Search of the Most Beautiful Dougong in Dali, Yunnan]. Photography experts will be invited to give talks on ancient architecture knowledge and photography techniques, helping participants better appreciate the charm of ancient architecture and understand the “artisan spirit” of the ancients.
Additionally, according to the organizers, participants in the Shanghai division who win specific awards or rankings will receive certificates stamped with the “Official Seal of the Shanghai Photographers Association,” which can earn bonus points when applying for membership in the association.
Since 2009, this event has been successfully held for six editions, attracting over two million participants and collecting more than 4.7 million works, making it one of the largest photography competitions in the country. This year’s competition features two main award categories—“Ancient Architecture · Heritage Award” and “Artisan-Crafted · Dougong Award”—with nearly sixty prizes in total. The “Ancient Architecture · Heritage Award” aims to document various existing types of Chinese ancient architecture through imagery, with themes not limited to the buildings themselves but also emphasizing the relationship between architecture and environment, as well as architecture and humanity. The “Artisan-Crafted · Dougong Award” encourages participants to focus their creative vision on dougong, the unique structural element of Chinese ancient architecture, showcasing its artistic or technical beauty to convey the refined details of ancient buildings and reflect the attitude and sentiment of the ancients’ “artisan craftsmanship.”
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