A South China tourist attraction, Chengdu Snow Village, has fallen into disrepute after guests found that its winter wonderland promised was a mere cotton as fake snow and foamy water. The finding has caused mass outrage, with the park refunding money and closing temporarily.
Fake Snow Turns to Scandal
Chengdu Snow Village in Sichuan province suburban Chengdu was being sold as a scenic winter wonderland with snowy log houses and stunning views. It lured many tourists during the Lunar New Year holidays with its shiny photos. But disappointments came soon for visitors when they found that the “snow” beneath their feet was merely fake material.
Indignant tourists turned to social media, sharing photos of cotton strands strewn on parched earth, stuck in bushes, and even stapled onto rooftops. “I feel cheated. I think my intelligence has been insulted!” one angry tourist posted online. Another tourist snarked, “A snow village without snow.”
Park’s Admission and Apology
Under pressure of increasing criticism, Chengdu Snow Village confessed that it had utilized fake materials to generate the snowy illusion. “In order to create a ‘snowy’ atmosphere, the tourist village purchased cotton for the snow… but it did not achieve the expected effect, leaving a very bad impression on tourists who came to visit,” said the park in a statement.
The park quickly cleared all remnants of the artificial snow and refunded tickets to disappointed visitors. Because of the widespread backlash, it has now closed down for good, with no reopening date yet announced.
China: A Henan tourist spot was busted for faking snow with cotton and sand. Visitors felt duped, calling it a scam, while officials awkwardly admitted, “We made it ourselves.” ❄️👎 pic.twitter.com/NVAKE90Dus
— Volcaholic 🌋 (@volcaholic1) December 20, 2024
Weather Accused of Facilitating the Deception
An employee at the park tried to justify the move, claiming that the extremely warm weather had kept real snow from falling. “According to the precedents of past years, we normally have snow during winter. Therefore, we installed this area ahead of time to wait for the snow to fall. We were waiting for snow to arrive. Unfortunately, the weather did not favor us,” the employee explained to Global Times.
China’s Meteorological Bureau has cautioned that the nation is facing more severe heatwaves and unpredictable weather as a result of climate change. The past year was officially documented as China’s warmest year to date, with temperatures in Chengdu ranging from 3°C to 10°C (37°F to 50°F) in January—too high for natural snow.
A History of False Attractions in China
This incident is not the first time a Chinese tourist attraction has been caught misleading visitors with artificial features. Over the years, several destinations have faced backlash for deceptive marketing tactics.
In 2023, it was revealed that the famous Yuntai Mountain Waterfall in Henan province was not entirely natural. Tourists were shocked to find hidden artificial pipes boosting its flow to maintain its “spectacular” appearance during the dry season.
‼️ An engineering marvel in China ‼️
Videos of Yuntai Waterfall (云台山瀑布) — the highest waterfall in China with a vertical drop of 314m — in Yuntai Mountain, Jiaozuo, Henan, has gone viral after a man posted a video of his surprise discovery of water rushing out from a large… pic.twitter.com/yYKYFqONLW
— Byron Wan (@Byron_Wan) June 5, 2024
Another strange incident took place in Zibo City, Shandong province. An amusement park was caught painting donkeys black and white stripes to pretend they were zebras. Likewise, Taizhou Zoo in Jiangsu province once covered up chow-chow dogs as pandas and pretended they were “panda dogs” before they finally confessed the trick.
Later, another Taizhou zoo was criticized after a viral clip featured a tiger-striped chow-chow puppy that had been dyed. The zoo justified its actions, saying it was done for entertainment purposes and to lure tourists.
The Fallout and Future Implications
The Chengdu Snow Village scandal has once again brought debates regarding transparency in tourism and consumer rights back into the spotlight. There are calls for more stringent regulations to stop attractions from deceiving tourists with false advertisements.
Though the park has apologized and refunded, its reputation is likely to suffer long-term damage. Tourists have become more skeptical, asking questions about the genuineness of attractions before going in.
As climate change affects weather patterns, tourist attractions might need to change their selling tactics and discover ethical means of providing authentic experiences without resorting to falsification.
For now, Chengdu Snow Village remains closed, leaving visitors wondering whether it will ever be able to regain public trust.
