The "2014 Tainan Golden Shower Tree Flower Festival" photography contest, organized by the Tainan City Government Tourism Bureau, began accepting submissions in mid-May and ran for over a month, receiving 1,436 entries. After the judging session on July 1, the results were announced, with 33 outstanding winning works selected. The top three winners were Wu Meizhu for "Beautiful Golden Shower Trees!", Chen Helu for "World of Fallen Blossoms," and Ho Tun-kai for "Journeying Together."

The Tourism Bureau stated that the Tainan Golden Shower Tree Flower Festival photography contest has entered its second year. This year, through word of mouth online, the event generated significant buzz, attracting many travel and photography enthusiasts to visit various flower-viewing spots around Tainan. As a result, over 1,436 entries were submitted in just over a month, demonstrating that the Tourism Bureau’s goal of using the photo contest to promote urban tourism and marketing is gradually gaining recognition and achieving results.

To select outstanding works that fully showcase the beauty of each flower area and evoke a sense of happiness, the Tourism Bureau invited a panel of senior photography experts to form the judging committee. After rigorous preliminary, secondary, and final rounds of judging from over a thousand entries, the top 3, 12 special merit awards, and 18 honorable mentions were chosen—totaling 33 winning works. The photos were taken across the 7 zones and 12 flower-viewing hotspots planned for this year’s event, allowing the golden shower trees in each area to be presented through the lens of participants in diverse and rich aesthetic forms. The judges also commented that the overall quality of this year’s entries was notably high, and the selected works effectively highlighted local characteristics.

In addition, the selected winning works will be widely used for promoting Tainan tourism. The Tourism Bureau expressed hope that these images will help tell Tainan’s story and market the city, while also bringing people closer to the local culture and offering visitors a unique travel experience in Tainan.

 

Tainan Hutoupi Water Area: Canoeing While Admiring the Golden Flower Rain