'Famous Chinese Waterfall' Revealed as Artificial? Water Gushing from Water Pipes

by Heo Midam

Published 07 Jun.2024 13:50(KST)

Tipster "Went up to check the pipe," reveals

It has been revealed that water was artificially supplied through a water pipe at a famous waterfall in China, sparking controversy.

On the 6th (local time), foreign media including the BBC reported that controversy is brewing over the Yuntai Waterfall located inside Yuntai Mountain Park in Henan Province, central China. Yuntai Mountain Park is a famous park classified as a 5A-level national tourist attraction, the highest grade in China.

The controversy was triggered when a tourist posted a video taken at the top of Yuntai Waterfall on social media (SNS). The video showed a large water pipe installed above the waterfall. The poster said, "I struggled all the way to the end of Yuntai Waterfall just to see a pipe." The video spread through Chinese SNS platforms such as Weibo and Douyin, garnering tens of millions of views, and the local government even dispatched officials to investigate due to the significant impact.

[Image source=Douyin]

Yuntai Waterfall is a famous attraction with a drop of as much as 314 meters, attracting tourists all year round. However, as the controversy grew, local netizens expressed shock. Netizens reacted with comments such as, "Isn't this a masterpiece created by nature?", "Is the video fake?", "Have I been deceived for years?", "This is an act of disregarding nature and tourists," and "How can this be a tourist attraction? I won't go anymore." However, some argued, "Since people don't go to see the source of the waterfall, it can't be considered a lie to the public."

The Yuntai Mountain Park authorities admitted to installing the water pipe. A park official told China Central Television (CCTV), "Due to seasonal changes, we could not guarantee that the waterfall would always present its most beautiful appearance to the public," and confessed, "We made some improvements during the dry season."

This is not the first time in China that supplying water through pipes has caused controversy. In March last year, it was also revealed by tourists that the source of Dashungshan Waterfall in Dengfeng City, Henan Province, was a water pipe, leading to public criticism.