Controversy over the waterfall has sparked a social media storm in China and even prompted an explanation from the water body itself.
A hiker posted a video showing water from Yuntaishan Falls, billed as China’s tallest uninterrupted waterfall, flowing from a pipe built high above the rock face.
The video has been liked more than 70,000 times since it was first posted on Monday.
The operators of Yuntai Tourism Park said that they made “small improvements” during the dry season to make tourists feel that their trip was worthwhile.
“The story of how I came to the source of Yuntai Falls after all the hard work only to see a water pipe.” video The content posted by user “Farisvov” is as follows.
The topic “The origin of Yuntai Waterfall is just some pipes” started to go viral on social media.
With more than 14 million views on Weibo and nearly 10 million views on Douyin, it caused an uproar and local government officials were sent to the park to investigate.
They asked operators to learn from the incident and explain improvement measures to tourists in advance, according to CCTV.
The park later issued a statement on behalf of the waterfall, saying, “I did not expect to see everyone in this way.”
“As a seasonal landscape, I cannot guarantee that I will appear at my best every time you come to see me,” it added.
“I just made a few small improvements during the dry season so I could be in the best shape possible to meet my friends.”
Yuntai Waterfall is located in central Henan Province, with a height of 312 meters. It is located in the Yuntai Mountains Geopark, a UNESCO Global Geopark.
Millions of tourists travel there every year, attracted by geological formations dating back more than a billion years.
Park officials told CCTV that the water they used to pump the water into the falls was spring water, adding that it would not damage the natural landscape.
Many social media users seemed to understand the situation.
“Yuntai Park: Doesn’t this person have anything better to do?” One comment was liked nearly 40,000 times on Douyin.
“I think this is a good thing. Otherwise, people will be disappointed if they end up seeing nothing,” said one Weibo user.
But there are also critical voices.
“This does not respect the natural order and does not respect tourists,” one Weibo user wrote.
“How can it still be called the first waterfall?” another Douyin user commented.
This is not the first time artificial measures have been used to “rescue” a famous waterfall in China.
Huangguoshu Waterfall is a famous tourist attraction in southwestern Guizhou Province. Since 2006, Huangguoshu Waterfall has been maintaining water flow during the dry season through a water diversion project from a nearby dam.
