‘Small enhancement measure’: Chinese officials respond after waterfall in Henan province found to use piped water

SINGAPORE: A waterfall in China was recently revealed to have been artificially supplied with an external water source, after a video posted on Chinese social media showed water flowing from a pipe. 

In an effort to placate netizens, the park’s management – which oversees the running of Yuntai Falls – said that the pipe was used in order to supply water during the drier seasons. 

According to the video posted on the short video platform Douyin, a man had climbed to the top of the waterfall to look for its source.

The short clip – which has more than 74,000 likes – appears to show several water pipes supplying water to the waterfall. 

“Regarding the incident when I endured ‘trials and tribulations’ to get to the source of Yuntai Falls, only to see water pipes,” the caption alongside the short clip read. 

A screengrab from the video posted on Douyin, showing water flowing from a pipe on top of Yuntai Falls. (Image: Douyin/@-L)

On Tuesday (Jun 4), Yuntai Mountain Park’s management posted a light-hearted statement on its official Weibo page, explaining that the natural water flow depended on the season. 

Most parts of China generally have four distinct seasons: Spring is from March to May, summer is from June to August, autumn is from September to November, and winter is from December to February.

Addressing netizens directly, the statement read: “Dear friends, hello! I didn’t expect to meet and talk to everyone under such circumstances. I’m Yuntai Falls, one of the many natural water landscapes in the Yuntai Mountain scenic area.” 

“Due to seasonal factors, I cannot ensure that I will be able to meet everyone in my most beautiful appearance when people visit.”

Standing at 314 metres tall, the waterfall – located in China’s Henan province – is the highest waterfall in Asia, news website Shanghai Daily reported. 

In order to ensure that visitors do not leave disappointed, the park management said that during dry seasons, a “small enhancement measure” was made. 

The statement also said that it would soon be the “abundant water period” this summer, and the waterfall will meet visitors in its “most perfect and natural form”. 

The statement, which garnered more than 7,300 likes on Weibo, saw many positive comments from Chinese internet users. 

“This is the level of public relations (that I’m expecting), (they) turned their response into advertising,” one comment with 846 likes read. 

Another commenter wrote: “Isn’t it great that you get to see the great waterfall even during the dry season.”, referring to the use of water pipes to supply water to the falls. 

A screenshot from a video posted on the official Weibo account of Yuntai Mountain scenic area, showing a thin stream of water falling down the cliffs. (Image: Weibo/Yuntai Mountain)

The park’s management also posted another video showing the different states of Yuntai Falls during the various seasons: From frozen glaciers along the cliff sides during winter, to a roaring cascade of water during July to September. 

The video also showed tourists holding umbrellas and getting drenched from the strong spray of the waterfall. 

“This is how I (Yuntai Falls) look from October to December,” the subtitles in the video read, showing a thin stream of water flowing down the cliff. 

While the video only garnered 113 likes on Weibo, user comments were mostly positive. 

“So much effort was put into this, how can you ask me not to visit,” one Weibo user wrote. 

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