AN iconic waterfall that attracts millions of tourists in China has been found to be a fake.
A hiker made a bizarre discovery at the Yuntai Mountain which sparked fury amongst visitors.
The embarrassing revelation was posted on a Chinese social media app, Weibo, and gained millions of views from fuming tourists.
In the clip, the man spotted a pipe that was feeding the 1,000ft-tall tourist hotspot, dubbed China's tallest uninterrupted waterfall.
The beautiful cascading waters can be seen gushing from the pipe built and concealed high into the rock face.
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The user Farisvov captioned the video, saying: "The one about how I went through all the hardship to the source of Yuntai Waterfall only to see a pipe."
The post went viral and accumulated over 14million reactions, causing clamour and prompting officials to investigate.
The park operators have admitted that the waterfall is boosted during the dry season.
The Yuntai Waterfall receives "a small enhancement" to avoid spoiling holidaymakers' experience and to appear in "the most beautiful way", they claim.
A park spokesperson said in a statement: “The Yuntai Mountain waterfall is a natural landscape feature.
“But, as a seasonal attraction, in order to ensure that tourists do not go away disappointed, we made a small enhancement during the dry season.”
They added that the waterfall will greet tourists in its "most natural form" this summer as it will not require boosting during the monsoon season.
The local government asked the park management to be transparent about such enhancements in the future and warn the visitors in advance, reported state media CCTV.
The Yuntai Waterfall attracted over 11million visitors in 2019 alone and has been given the highest rating by China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
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Nestled in a Unesco Global Geopark, the Yuntai is surrounded by rock formations dating back more than a billion years.
After the scenic waterfall was exposed to be partially artificial, some social media users took to comments to express their disapproval.
One person said: "How could it be called the No.1 waterfall anymore."
Another one added: "It's not respecting the natural order, and not respecting the tourists."
But others have applauded the park's solution to less rainfall.
One user wrote: “The source of a waterfall is not what people came to see anyway, I don’t think it counts as lying to the public.”
Someone else said: "I think it's a good thing to do. Otherwise people would be disappointed if they end up seeing nothing there."
