A controversy over a waterfall has cascaded into a social media storm in China, even prompting an explanation from the water body itself.
A hiker posted a video that showed the flow of water from Yuntai Mountain Waterfall - billed as China’s tallest uninterrupted waterfall - was coming from a pipe built high into the rock face.
The clip has been liked more than 70,000 times since it was first posted on Monday. Operators of the Yuntai tourism park said that they made the “small enhancement” during the dry season so visitors would feel that their trip had been worthwhile.
“The one about how I went through all the hardship to the source of Yuntai Waterfall only to see a pipe,” the caption of the video posted by user “Farisvov” reads.
With a carefully-crafted explanation like that, it almost sounds like a positive.
If it’s main value of the waterfall is tourism, and if the water is needed downstream anyway, why not start the water diversion before the waterfall? Ultimately, all China is doing is giving everyone a false sense of security by masking the impact climate change is having on them.
??? By turning a piece of infrastructure into a piece of scenic beauty ???
China is ranked 20th globally in Net Zero emissions readiness and is exceeding its 2050 and 2060 benchmark targets. Its the world leader in nuclear energy construction, building half of all nuclear power plants in construction globally. Its the world leader in mass transit, having laid over 3000 km of new HSR since 2008. And its the world leader in NEV construction, leading the world in the phase out of ICE engines.
But they put a pipe up to the top of a waterfall in order to keep it running during dry months, so they’re not taking climate change seriously?
Ranked 20th, but out of how many countries?
Well I pulled the full source: the 2021 Net Zero Readiness Report from KPMG.
KPMG evaluated 32 countries. Out of which China ranked 20th. Not terrible, but also not all that impressive with that context.
Keeping the waterfall active would be conservation. I’m sure there would be an ecosystem around it.
True. On the other hand if it’s in a situation where water can be scarce, it might cause a bit more water evapiration to send it down a waterfall instead of a pipe
I’m not wise on chinese climate, but there’s probably a dry season regardless of climate change