On behalf of CFA (China Aquascape Association) and CIPS (China International Pet Show), we are very pleased to officially announce the winners and world ranking of the top 100 of the first CIPS Global Aquatic Plants Aquascaping Championship, or 'The Great Wall Cup' as the global aquascapers would like to call it!
Top 100 of 2017 CIPS Global Aquatic Plants Aquascaping Championship
Our thanks and respect goes out to all participants worldwide. We received an amazing and promising amount of over 1.000 entries for the first edition of our contest!
Judges filled in their scores, total scores have been counted, the final results are out!
A special word for the big winner, Mr. Josh Sim from Malaysia! His aquascaping power has reached heroic levels this year! Congratulations Josh!
A total of 250.000 RMB of prize money will be pided under the winners! RMB 100.000 for the Champion! RMB 50.000 for the runner up! RMB 20.000 for number 3! RMB 5.000 for ranking no. 4 to 10, RMB 3.000 for ranking no. 11 to 20 and RMB 1.500 for ranking no. 21 to 30!
A big award ceremony will be kept at CIPS in Shanghai on Saturday November 18th, 2017. The top 100 photo's will be revealed on this day and the winners will receive their awards. We kindly welcome you all to join us!
On November 16 to 19 during CIPS, eleven teams of 33 aquascapers will compete live on site in Shanghai, including China, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Viet Nam, Taiwan, Hong Kong & Macao, Europe, Brazil. Our winner Mr. Josh Sim will represent Malaysia Team during the live contest.
TOP 100 CIAC 2017
001 - Josh Sim (Malaysia)002 - Dama Refiyuda, Indonesia003 - Pan Junfeng, China004 - Wei Su-ni (China)005 - Luong Quoc Hung (Vietnam)006 - Nguyen Van Lam, China007 - Yang Xiwei, Malaysia008 - Yoyo prayogi, Indonesia009 - Kwong King-man (China)010 - Zhang Dadong, China011 - Liu Zhenfei, China012 - Luis Cardoso, Portugal013 - M Aldi Massaid, Indonesia014 - Liu Yanjun, China015 - Yulianto, Indonesia016 - Narto Tan, Indonesia017 - Ganda Kurniawan, Indonesia018 - Sun Xin (China)019 - AGUSSALIM JAMALUDDIN, Indonesia020 - Lee Chi-jui (Taiwan, China)021 - Huang Jun, China022 - M Saidi Arif, Indonesia023 - Wang Dianyou, China024 - NOBPHACHA YIMYOU, Thailand025 - Nuno Matos, Portugal026 - Chen Long, China027 - Zheng Yongzhao (China)028 - Sidney Cordeiro, Brazil029 - Li Zhonglian, China030 - Zhang Zhendong, China031 - Ahyat abdillah, Indonesia032 - Huang Yaoxi (China)033 - Fitri Asriandi Kusuma, Indonesia034 - Cao Xun, China035 - Bachrum, Indonesia036 - Marvin Wisnu, Indonesia037 - Zhang Luhui, China038 - SOMEN BANERJEE, Indonesia039 - Yang Xiaolin, China040 - Qi Liping, China041 - Cui Jian (China)042 - NGUYEN THI LE (Vietnam)043 - Li Han, China044 - Dong Chuanyi, China045 - Cheng Lihong (China)046 - Sun Chunwen, China047 - Liang Jiancong (China)048 - Gao Dongsheng, China049 - Tiago Miravent, Portugal050 - Robertus Hartono, Singapore051 - Guo Wei, China052 - André Franken, Germany053 - Yan Runsheng, China054 - Wang Yingfang, China055 - JOSE ANGEL MADRID (Spain)056 - Huang Zhongliang, China057 - Xing Kongjun, Singapore058 - Feng Hao, China059 - Zhao Xiaochen (China)060 - NOBPHACHA YIMYOU, Thailand061 - Liao Guohong, Taiwan, China062 - Guan Liwei, China063 - Pei Miao, China064 - Meng Hongen, China065 - NOBPHACHA YIMYOU, Thailand066 - Huang Shaoheng, China067 - Song Xiaojiang, China068 - Zhang Qi, China069 - Guo Ye, China070 - China in May071 - Ouyang Zhong, China072 - Achintya Shankar Adhikari India073 - Li Feng China074 - Xu Weishan, China075 - Ana Rodrigues, Portugal076 - Mak Chung-wai China077 - Zou Shangxi, China078 - Fadly Prayetno, Indonesia079 - Li Ming, China080 - Sidney Cordeiro, Brazil081 - Chen Xiaodong, China082 - Sun Yang, China083 - Miao Dongliang, China084 - Matthew Israel O. Manes, Philippines085 - Leung Kai-man (China)086 - Sascha Hoyer, Germany087 - Szabó Krisztián Hungary088 - Chen Qier, China089 - Cao Zheng, China090 - Shi Yanan, China091 - Zhang Weiyan, China092 - Liu Haiyun, China093 - Li Tao, China094 - Sun Chenxi (China)095 - Miladi, Indonesia096 - Muhammad Fatih, Indonesia097 - RESFIN WINANDA, Indonesia098 - Zhou Weicheng, China099 - WONG KAI LON, Macau, China100 - Siti Hilmah, Indonesia
Every CIAC results announcement gives the aquascaping community a new collection of works to discuss, study and remember. Behind the winning photograph is a longer story: earlier competitions, ideas developed across seasons, and the practical work of bringing a landscape to life.
Before the CIAC 2026 results arrive on October 10, there is time to look again at the aquascapes that made the previous season memorable. The most useful question is not simply which work finished highest. It is how each composition earned our attention—and what we notice when we return to it.
Before a new IAPLC winner is revealed, the previous season deserves a closer look. Which aquascaping styles filled the TOP 300 in 2025? Did the same visual families become more common in the TOP 100, TOP 27 and TOP 7? And what can those layouts teach us about depth, planting and the way fish bring a composition to life?
This image presents a densely planted underwater scene organized around a pale sandy trail that recedes beneath an arch of roots and foliage. A school of small fish occupies the upper-left and central water, while layered greens, reddish plant accents and hanging root-like forms create strong vertical depth. The composition is highly atmospheric and technically controlled, with darkness at the edges directing attention toward the illuminated opening. Because the photograph does not reveal maintenance history, livestock identification or construction details beneath the planting, those aspects are judged conservatively from visible evidence only.
Twenty-five years. Twenty-five winning aquascapes. Twenty-two individual champions. The history of the IAPLC Grand Prize is a record of how aquascaping has expanded its visual language—from lush planted habitats and open swimming spaces to forests, rock corridors, caves and intricately constructed underwater worlds.
The IAPLC 2026 TOP 300 nominee list offers an opportunity to discover creators whose next work could become a new source of inspiration. Alongside familiar champions are names with a different recent story: a finish outside the Top 300 in 2025, followed by a nomination in 2026.
This image presents a densely planted rocky aquascape organized around a bright central opening that reads as a submerged valley. Dark, sharply layered stones establish the structure, while mosses and fine foliage soften their edges without obscuring the main geological rhythm. Small schooling fish add scale and movement across the upper and middle water, although their exact species and ecological requirements cannot be confirmed from the image alone. The result is a convincing naturalistic scene with strong depth, an unusually effective water-surface transition, and a few areas where planting density and visual control could be refined.
This image presents a densely planted underwater landscape built around a shaded, forest-like stream. Dark framing vegetation and arching wood create a strong tunnel effect, while a pale central opening supplies depth and directs attention toward the rear of the composition. A group of small fish occupies the middle water, reinforcing the impression of a living habitat. The scene is highly immersive and technically ambitious, although the darkness at both sides and the very dense planting make some structural relationships difficult to read. Scores below are editorial estimates based only on this image, not official contest results.
The IAPLC 2026 TOP 300 nominees include a compelling mix of former champions and accomplished competitors. One detail makes this year's announcement especially exciting: all four of the top finishers from IAPLC 2025 are nominated again—Josh Sim, Gang Zhao, Katsuki Tanaka and Hidekazu Tsukiji.
The 2026 Great Wall Cup International Aquascaping Contest (CIAC) has completed its submission phase and moved into judging, receiving 650 entries from 29 countries and regions.
Japan has the largest representation in the IAPLC 2026 TOP 300 nominee list, with 68 names. AquaLibs' analysis of ADA's official list counts 300 nominees across 49 countries and areas, with Vietnam third by nominee count.
Twenty-nine Vietnamese aquascapers have been named in the IAPLC 2026 TOP 300 nominee list published by ADA. Their nominations give Vietnam's aquascaping community a shared reason to celebrate as attention turns to the final results on October 10.
The IAPLC 2026 TOP 300 nominee list is available, with final results scheduled for Saturday, October 10, 2026. For aquascaping enthusiasts, it is time to find familiar names and prepare for the reveal.
This image presents a densely planted forest-style aquascape organized around a bright opening and a pale, winding foreground channel. Massive dark roots create an overhead canopy and repeated vertical trunks, while small schooling fish provide scale and movement through the central space. The work is exceptionally complete visually, with mosses and compact plants covering much of the hardscape. Because the review is based on one photograph, plant identities, tank dimensions, maintenance history and the exact fish ecology cannot be verified. The scores below are an editorial estimate, not an official contest result.
This image presents a densely planted underwater ravine built from dark, layered rocks and heavily mossed branches or ledges. A school of small, vividly marked fish occupies the central passage, while a bright opening behind the hardscape supplies the principal depth cue. The layout has a strong sense of enclosure, movement and vertical relief, although the very dark edges make some construction and planting details difficult to assess. The following scores are an editorial estimate based only on this submitted image, not an official contest result, and long-term maintenance cannot be verified from a single photograph.
This image presents a densely planted underwater forest organized around sweeping, interlocking driftwood. Fine-leaved growth covers much of the wood, while open water in the central lower area gives a school of vertically striped, long-finned fish room to move. The composition is immersive and convincingly mature in appearance, with strong depth created by overlapping branches, dark recesses and brighter planting behind the main structure. Because the image shows only one finished view, maintenance history, exact plant identities and hidden construction cannot be verified. The following scores are an editorial estimate, not an official contest result.
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