A beauty spot waterfall in China has come under fire for a “small enhancement” to its natural wonders — a man-made pipe. Red-faced national park officials in Henan province have admitted the Yuntai Falls — billed as the highest in Asia — was not the pristine attraction it claimed after tourists spotted a large conduit sticking out from the cliff face at the attraction in the north-central region. They said the backstop was necessary to keep the water flowing during the dry season.
It comes after a hiker posted drone video footage of the 315-metre falls apparently flowing from a network of pipes. The images were shared on Douyin, a video-sharing app similar to TikTok, according to The Times of London. More than 45,000 people have shared the clips — and many criticized the park for cheating visitors out of what should have been a wondrous experience.
A commenter on Weibo, a Chinese social media platform, wrote: “The move does not respect the laws of nature nor the visitors.” But some said the human-enhanced spectacle was “better than seeing no water at all.” Authorities took a lighthearted approach to the backlash, formulating a response as if penned by the waterfall itself.
It read: “I underwent a small enhancement so that I could meet my friends in better shape in the dry season.” It’s not the first time the Chinese have given Mother Nature a helping hand, the BBC reported. In 2006, water was diverted from a nearby dam to maintain the cascading flow .