Yuntai waterfall, with its impressive drop of 314 meters, is one of the main tourist attractions of the eponymous mountain in China’s Henan province. It comes with checking out Instagram, TikTok, or X to check it out. There are a lot selfiesPhotos and videos of the majestic jet of water shooting out from a height exceeding that of any skyscraper in Spain. Now, thanks to one of the thousands of tourists who come to Yuntai every year to enjoy the scenery and waterfalls, we know that this natural landscape is not as scenic as we thought.

Of course, this announcement created great excitement.

A fascinating show. Yuntai Waterfalls are impressive. On a mountain in Henan, which has the highest score given by Chinese authorities to tourist attractions due to its environment; and according to its own characteristics. Visitors to the area can enjoy the jet of water falling vertically from 314 meters, considered the highest waterfall in the entire country; this is approximately equivalent to Picasso’s two stacked towers in Madrid. There are those who claim that Yuntai is the largest waterfall in all of Asia.

…and a tourist hotspot. The show is so overwhelming and there is so much fun to be had selfies or record videos that thousands of visitors come to see it every year. ABC News notes that just over seven million visitors visited the Yuntai Mountain region, which has the best views, last year alone.

Before the pandemic affected the flow of tourists, the entire Yuntai Geo Park had exceeded 11 million in 2019. After all, in addition to exclusive views, the environment has two other hooks that help it gain global visibility: its AAAAA rating, the highest rating given to tourist attractions by Chinese authorities; and a recognition from UNESCO.

A unique sight… And controversial. But for a few days now, Yuntai has been famous for much more than its views and water jets. And it’s all thanks to one of the millions of tourists who flock to the region every year. During a recent trip, a visitor used his drone to look at the source of the tallest waterfall, the point where the water emerges 314 meters above the ground. What the screen showed him shocked him: Liquid was flowing through a pipe wedged between rocks, away from prying eyes.

This discovery surprised its author enough that he decided to share it. The video was eventually posted on Douyin and spread on Weibo, and it didn’t take long for it to go viral, generating millions of views and all sorts of comments very different from Yuntai’s. It has since also gone to TikTok, Instagram or X, where the newspaper is located. Shanghai Daily On Tuesday, he shared a recording in which he revealed that he actually had several tubes.

helping nature. The video circulated so much that it created a lot of commotion, which was also echoed by international media. GuardianBBC or DW said that the authorities decided to investigate what happened and those responsible for the park had no choice but to explain themselves.

Their argument is simple: If this pipeline is there, it’s because nature sometimes needs help to avoid disappointing tourists. For them, this is not a hoax, a fiction, or at all a fake waterfall; rather, “minor improvements” that increase water flow during droughts.

Goal: always be beautiful. “As a seasonal sight, I cannot guarantee that it will be at its most beautiful every time you come to see me,” the park explains in an article published “on behalf” of the waterfall. It’s the dry season to look the best possible to meet my friends. Authorities, who made statements to Chinese television CCTV, went a little further and guaranteed that the water they used and pumped into the waterfalls came from the source and did not harm the natural landscape.

“Yuntai Waterfall is a feature of the natural landscape, but as a seasonal attraction, the water pipes are only a minor improvement measure during the dry season to ensure that tourists are not disappointed,” the agency said on Weibo on Wednesday. he insisted. In reality, this wouldn’t be so exceptional: Years ago, water from a nearby dam was diverted so that the very popular Huangguoshu waterfall could continue its flow during the dry season.

Discussion is served. Although the park’s custodians insist that it is not their intention to disappoint hikers who visit the falls during the less rainy season of the year, their statements did not serve to calm the waters in the nets. There are those who share it completely. And who wouldn’t accept that? Both made their positions clear on Weibo.

“This is neither disrespectful to the natural order nor to tourists,” complains one user of the Chinese social network. Another, in a similar tone, wondered how Yuntai could continue to boast of having the highest waterfall in China after videos circulating on the networks in recent days.

At the opposite pole, there are people who think that the pipe option will not disappoint visitors and that what is important is the fall of the waterfall, not its source. “You’re there to see a peacock show off its tail, not focus on its butt,” one user ironically says.

Pictures | Visit Henan (X) and Gary Todd (Flickr)

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