Workers at Yuntai Falls were left red-faced after a visitor appeared to spot a pipe right behind the popular attraction.
A video shared on Douyin, a social media platform similar to TikTok, has gone viral after a tourist noticed a pipe protruding from right behind China’s highest waterfall.
Yuntai Falls is one of the most popular landmarks in the Henan region and is the steepest waterfall in the country.
The clip has been shared nearly 50,000 times and forced Yuntai Mountain Park officials to admit to the trick.
They cited season factors forcing them to adopt a “small enhancement during dry season” to help maintain the 314m waterfall.
Operators said the move was designed to “enrich the visiting experience” as they wanted to make the “trip worthwhile” for visitors “who have travelled a long way.”
They later released a statement in the voice of the waterfall to explain the decision.
The statement read: “In order to enrich your visiting experience and make your visit worthwhile, I made a small enhancement during the dry season, just to meet you in a better posture.”
While some social media users were furious over the trickery, others simply ridiculed the abysmal installation of the pipe.
One Weibo user wrote: “The main thing is that the water pipe is so crudely installed, others at least disguise it in a superior way.”
Another commented: “The move does not respect the laws of nature nor the visitors.”
Others admitted to appreciating the move as a “good faith” effort to ensure tourists would get to enjoy the scenic views fully.
One user insisted it was “better than seeing no water at all”, while another noted it was a “good faith effort for the scenic area to maintain the landscape during dry periods.”
According to the local tourism authority, the Yuntai Mountain area attracted over seven million visitors last year.
