Tejal Somvanshi
After a video by a Douyin user (the Chinese version of TikTok, circulated by the media) showed a tourist revealing a large pipe at the top of the Yuntai Falls, the highest in the country and a popular attraction within the Yuntai Mountain tourist area, the operators were forced to acknowledge the evidence, citing the region’s lack of rainfall.
The video, which has been shared 48,000 times, sparked a flood of comments on social media, forcing site officials to publish a letter blaming seasonal factors and admitting to a small help during the dry season. Scenic park operators in China’s Henan province have had to acknowledge that the country’s highest waterfall receives help from an intake pipe due to a lack of rain.
The measure aimed to enhance the visiting experience and make the trip worthwhile for those who have made the long journey, the operators wrote on their account on the popular Chinese social media platform Weibo.
Chinese netizens were unforgiving. “The serious issue is that the water pipe is so crudely installed; others at least disguise it better,” wrote one user on Weibo. “The measure disrespects the laws of nature and the visitors,” wrote another.
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Some adopted a more conciliatory stance on the use of the pipe. One user said that “it’s better than seeing no water at all,” while another opined that “it’s a good-faith effort to maintain the landscape during dry periods.”
Tourism park administrators describe the waterfall as the highest in Asia, with a vertical drop of 314 meters. In 2023, the Yuntai Mountain area attracted more than seven million visits, according to local tourism authorities.
