CNN
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A famous waterfall in China is attracting more attention than usual. video It has emerged that the majestic waterfall may be artificially fed by a water pipe.
Yuntai Waterfall is located within Yuntai Mountain Park, a major tourist attraction in north-central China’s Henan Province. The park is rated AAAAAA, the highest rating given to a tourist attraction by the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
But the water source, described on the park’s website as “like a cascading Milky Way”, has come under scrutiny. A video posted to Chinese social media this week appears to show pipes supplying water to the 314-metre (1,030-foot) waterfall, suggesting the source may not be as natural as visitors believed.
From Weibo
A screenshot from a video showing the pipes at Undai Falls.
Yuntai Mountain Park management responded to the video, explaining that changes in the dry season have necessitated increasing the amount of water flowing into the waterfall.
“Due to seasonal changes, we cannot guarantee that (the falls) will be at their most beautiful to the public,” they said, adding that the falls “improve slightly during the dry season.”
Park rangers also expressed their appreciation for the attention and promised that the falls will welcome visitors this summer in their “most perfect and most natural form.”
From Weibo
Another screenshot from the video.
The video shocked many in China, but some on social media praised the park’s response.
“The source of the waterfall is not what people came to see, so I don’t think they’ve lied to the public,” one Weibo user said.
“You’re there to watch the peacock show off its tail, not to focus on its bum,” said another.
Yuntai isn’t the first waterfall in China that needs a little help: The country’s monsoon climate makes it hard to keep the water flowing during the dry season when rainfall is scarce.
The Huangguoshu Waterfall in southwest China’s Guizhou province has also suffered during the dry season, and in 2004 a dam was built to keep the water flowing.
At the time, the ministry praised the construction of the dam, saying it would “put an end to the history of Huangguoshu Waterfall drying up.”
