“Now there are some TV dramas about Tibetans where the costumes are wrong — men are wearing items that only women should wear. After such programs air, young people no longer know what traditional attire really looks like…” Recalling the nearly seven years of the ‘Village Lens’ project, project representative Geng Dong gripped the trophy tightly with both hands, slightly trembling. On February 20, 2014, the 8th China Outdoor Annual Golden Rhino Awards were grandly unveiled at the Beijing National Convention Center. The ‘Shanshui Nature Conservation Center Village Lens Project’ won the ‘GORE-TEX® Brand Best Public Welfare & Environmental Spirit Award’ sponsored by Gore.
Gore China’s General Manager of the Apparel Division, Johnson Zhuang (first from left), presents the award to the winners and takes a commemorative photo
The China Outdoor Annual Golden Rhino Awards are known as the “Oscars of China’s outdoor community.” Co-initiated by ISPO BEIJING and the magazine Outdoor Exploration, the event saw around 200 guests — including outdoor enthusiasts, renowned outdoor product companies, and environmental NGOs — witness the announcement of ten major awards, including “Best Backpacker,” “Breakthrough of the Year,” and the “GORE-TEX® Brand Best Public Welfare & Environmental Spirit Award.”
Western China is one of the regions with the richest ecosystems and biodiversity. These areas are not uninhabited; through long-term adaptation, local communities have developed a set of production and lifestyle practices in harmony with the environment, systems for utilizing natural resources, and cultural traditions passed down through generations. But how can we truly understand their values? Preserving images may be their final form of expression. The ‘Village Lens’ project empowers villagers to pick up cameras and, through their own eyes, document daily life and the ecological and environmental changes around them. When everything stems from within, documentation — in moments of looking around — makes expression and preservation possible. At the event, Johnson Zhuang, General Manager of Gore China’s Apparel Division, presented the award and took a photo with the winners. “I’m very happy to present the ‘GORE-TEX® Brand Best Public Welfare & Environmental Spirit Award.’ Today’s recipients truly deserve this honor, and I hope they can firmly spread the spirit of outdoor adventure and environmental protection to the public,” said Mr. Zhuang. The other two nominated teams, “Green River Protection of Black-necked Cranes Action” and “Beihai Folk Volunteers Association Bird Protection Project,” though they did not win the trophy, similarly embodied exemplary strength, befriending nature and aligning with Gore’s environmental philosophy.
It is reported that the GORE-TEX® brand, as a top global outdoor brand, has supported the development of China’s outdoor industry while consistently paying attention to the advancement of outdoor environmental protection and public welfare in China. From equipment and beyond, it supports outdoor enthusiasts in their eco-friendly initiatives and challenges. As early as 2007, Gore signed an agreement with the Hoh Xil Conservation Station in Tibet, ramping up support for the protection of Tibetan antelopes. Under the protection of GORE-TEX® products, guardians of the Tibetan antelope — such as Suonan Gelai, Danzheng Zaxi, Lü Changzheng, and Longzhu — were able to engage more safely in their mission, allowing more people concerned about the outdoor environment to learn about the heroic deeds of those protecting Tibetan antelopes while “experiencing the limitless” outdoors, and encouraging more outdoor enthusiasts to join in the protection of Tibetan antelopes and the ecological environment. Starting in 2008, the brand supported the “Friends of Nature” mountaineering team, helping them “climb a mountain, clean a path.” With Gore’s continuous attention and support, the Friends of Nature mountaineering team has continued to grow. “When we climb, we always carry flags of Gore and Friends of Nature. Whenever we see litter, we stop to clean it up. Other climbers see our actions and our flags and come to ask questions. That’s how our team has grown bigger and bigger. I think without Gore’s visibility in the outdoor community and their strong support for public welfare and environmental causes, our team might not have grown so quickly,” said Qu Zhixing, captain of the mountaineering team.