Touted as China’s “tallest uninterrupted waterfall,” the cascade may actually be a “water fail.” On Monday, June 3, controversy arose after a hiker posted a video from atop the tourist attraction at Yuntai Mountain Scenic Resort, which showed the waterfall being fed by man-made pipes. The Yuntai Mountain Waterfall clip has received millions of views on Chinese social media since the hiker posted it.
Caught red-handed, the tourism park admitted on Tuesday, June 4, to installing the pipes to pump natural spring water into the falls, maintaining no environmental harm has been done by the using the water. The park claimed it pumped water into the falls because it didn’t want to disappoint visitors during the dry season.
The park posted on the waterfall’s behalf in a statement on its website.
“I didn’t expect to meet everyone this way. As a seasonal scenery I can’t guarantee that I will be in my most beautiful form every time you come to see me,” the statement said. “I made a small enhancement… so I would look my best to meet my friends.”
While the water may not be naturally flowing, reaction on social media is.
“It’s not respecting the natural order, and not respecting tourists,” a user said on Weibo.
Others were more willing to go with the flow.
“I think it’s a good thing to do,” another Weibo user said. “Otherwise, people would be disappointed if they end up seeing nothing there.”
Some wondered why the hiker was “chasing waterfalls” in the first place.
“Yuntai park: Does this person not have better things to do,” a user wrote.
The park did not say when the pipes were installed or how often they are used to feed the falls. However, it did promise tourists who visit during the wetter months in the summer would see the waterfall in its “magnificence in a perfect and most natural manner.”
According to the park, more than 7 million people visit each year from around the world. Yuntai Scenic Resort is one of 213 internationally certified as a UNESCO Global Geopark, which means that its geological features and cultural significance raise awareness about conservation.
UNESCO has not said whether or not the artificially fed waterfall jeopardizes the park’s certification.
