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The planet is filled with natural wonders that can be an invaluable asset to the countries and regions they call home thanks to the tourists they’re able to attract. That includes the towering cascade that’s marketed as the tallest waterfall in China, which recently made waves thanks to a visitor who exposed it as a bit of a fraud.
China is obviously home to a massive manmade tourist attraction in the form of The Great Wall, but there’s another similarly awe-inspiring sight with slightly more natural origins located in the Henan province: an approximately 1,200-foot aquatic spectacle marketed as the country’s “largest interrupted waterfall” that flows off the side of the Yuntai Mountain.
The waterfall plays a major role in attracting more than 7 million people to the park where it’s located on an annual basis, so there’s obviously a fair amount of incentive to make sure they’re not disappointed when they arrive. However, caretakers have understandably found themselves subjected to a fair amount of backlash due to a recent revelation.
According to NBC News, officials had to do a bit of damage control earlier this week courtesy of a hiker who made their way up the rocks to the crest of the waterfall only to discover the supposedly “natural attraction” was being fueled by a decidedly unnatural pipe pumping water over the brink.
A hiker in China uncovered that the Yuntai Mountain Waterfall’s stream is actually from a pipe!
The viral footage reveals the “augmented” waterfall, sparking a social media frenzy.
Park officials confess to using spring water during the dry season to please visitors.#云台瀑布… pic.twitter.com/2ViUXGudWp
— Mr. Shaz (@Wh_So_Serious) June 6, 2024
The park didn’t waste much time issuing a statement (seemingly shared from the perspective of the waterfall) on social media, which reads:
“To enrich the visiting experience of our friends, and to ensure that you who have traveled from afar do not come in vain, I have made a small enhancement during the dry season, solely to be able to present myself in a better state when meeting with my friends.”
That would lead you to believe the pipe is turned off when there’s enough water naturally flowing, but it’s easy to understand why people who’ve headed to the mountain hoping to experience nature in all of its glory might be less than thrilled about this information coming to light.