CIAC 2025 World Ranking Announcement

21 October 2025

3411

Big News! The top 100 results of the 2025 "Great Wall Cup" International Landscape Architecture Competition (CIAC) have been announced!

The 29th China International Pet and Aquarium Show (CIPS2025) will be held at the China Import and Export Fair Complex in Guangzhou from November 13 to 16, 2025.

The Great Wall Cup International Aquascape Competition (CIAC) was jointly founded in 2016 by the Aquascape Branch of the China Fisheries Association (CFAA) and the Great Wall Pet Show (CIPS), and officially launched in 2017. The organizers are committed to bringing together aquascape enthusiasts, stimulating interest, and awakening passion. Through this aquascape competition, they encourage each participant to innovate and surpass themselves, while also fostering interest and promoting aquascape knowledge among non-participants.

November 13

CIAC International Master Landscape Show
Original Ecological Landscape Master Show (Hall 11.3)
Open Aquascape, the live finals begin!

November 14

CIAC 2025 Awards Ceremony (Hall 11.3)
Award ceremony, judges' comments, interaction with award-winning contestants, etc.
CIAC2025 Celebration Dinner

November 15

Industry knowledge training

November 16

Visit the sponsoring company booth

The 2025 "Great Wall Cup" International Landscape Competition (CIAC) has three categories: Waterscape Group, Most Beautiful Aquatic Plants Group, and Best Biological Configuration Group.

The competition is divided into two stages: preliminary selection and scoring. The transcripts are for works that have passed the preliminary selection. You can log in to the registration system:

https://member.chgie.com/

To check the detailed scores on the transcript, mainland Chinese athletes should use their registered mobile phone number, while non-mainland Chinese athletes should switch to the English version and log in using their registered email address.

Works not included on the transcripts have failed the preliminary selection process. Keep up the good work next year!

The CIAC submission and scoring system is independently developed by Great Wall. Judges only see relevant information about the entries and complete their scoring within the system, which automatically calculates scores and rankings. The final score is determined by the judges.

The results of this selection will be released in stages - the first round of announcement is scheduled for October 20, and the list of the top 30 outstanding works will be jointly released by the Great Wall Pet Show (CIPS) and the Aquarium Landscape Branch of the China Fisheries Association.

TOP 100 result announced

Related on News & Press

Leave your comments

Latest on News & Press

CIAC Champions: The Stories Behind Their Winning Aquascapes

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.
CIAC 2025 Review: Six Lessons Before the 2026 Results

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.
IAPLC 2025 in Review: Top 300 Aquascaping Styles Before the 2026 Results

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?
Rasio Wild Secrets - Heri Amir / Indonesia - Honour Prize IAPLC 2020 - Rooted Forest Canopy Framing a Bright Sandy Underwater Trail

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.
Every IAPLC Grand Prize Winner, 2001–2025: Design Trends, National Milestones and the Amano Legacy

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.
IAPLC 2026 TOP 300: 8 Fresh Faces to Follow

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.
Whispering Shadows - Luis Carlos Galarraga / Brazil - Bronze Prize IAPLC 2020 - Jagged Rocky Valley Framed by Moss and Schooling Fish

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.
Leaping through time - Jheng Yu Lyu / Chinese Taipei - Bronze Prize IAPLC 2020 - Layered Jungle Stream with Schooling Fish and Bright Opening

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.
IAPLC 2026 TOP 300: 10 Notable Aquascapers to Follow

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.
CIAC 2026 Enters Judging with a Record 650 Entries

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.
IAPLC 2026 TOP 300 by Country: Japan Leads

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.
IAPLC 2026: 29 Vietnamese TOP 300 Nominees

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.
IAPLC 2026 TOP 300 Nominees & Results Date

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.
Leading the new world - Roger Goh / Singapore - Bronze Prize IAPLC 2020 - Rooted forest aquascape frames a luminous central waterway

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.
Hokusai Katsushika - Albert Escrihuela Cáceres / Spain - Silver Prize - IAPLC 2020 - Moss-Covered Rock Ravine Framed by a Bright Opening

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.
PURE - Josh Sim / Malaysia - Silver Prize - IAPLC 2020 - Layered Driftwood Forest with a School of Striped Fish

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.