There’s a new entrant in the scam hall of fame.
The Chengdu Snow Village—a newly opened destination in the suburban Chengdu, Sichuan province—advertised a picturesque snow landscape for guests to enjoy during the Lunar New Year celebrations last month. Photos of the event resembled scenes from a Christmas card, featuring thick layers of snow blanketing log cabin roofs.
However, unseasonably warm weather meant the main feature was a no-show. Rather than canceling the events, organizers got creative. White sheets were stapled to cabin roofs, white sand and large cotton wool sheets were scattered across the grounds, and soapy foam drifted through the air in a feeble attempt to create a winter wonderland. Photos posted online by disappointed visitors showed the reality: sad wisps of cotton scattered across a greenish-brown field, clinging to the branches of bushes.
China’s tourism industry is really outdoing itself with its creativity!
— Ava Olivia (@AvaOlivia27) February 18, 2025
Welcome to ‘Snow Village’ in Chengdu- where snow is made of cotton balls, the ground is white sand, and the fake waterfalls flow… with imagination.1/2 @MM81792127@GundamNorthrop@SolomonYue pic.twitter.com/2fZr2ORrLl
The fake wonderland quickly went viral for all the wrong reasons, prompting the Chengdu Culture and Tourism Bureau to launch an investigation into the project. The village later apologized and offered refunds to guests, according to Reuters.
“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,” the village shared on its official WeChat account.
“Following the precedents of previous years, we typically have snow in winter. So we set up this spot for a photo shoot in advance to wait for the snow to come,” a Snow Village staff member told the state-run paper Global Times. “However, this year, the weather didn’t cooperate, and it didn’t snow.” The Chengdu Snow Village has removed all images of the attraction from its social media pages, and the venue has since closed down.
This isn’t the first time a tourist attraction in China has been caught misleading visitors. Last year, hidden artificial pipes were discovered at the Yuntai Mountain Waterfall in Henan province, used to boost the waterfall’s flow and maintain its spectacular appearance during the dry season. Just a few weeks ago, an amusement park in Zibo City, Shandong province went viral after internet users realized that its zebras weren’t actually zebras, but donkeys painted with black and white stripes.
A+ for creativity, everyone.
https://www.fastcompany.com/91284778/chengdus-snow-village-faces-backlash-for-creating-a-fake-winter-wonder?partner=rss&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=rss+fastcompany&utm_content=rssJelentkezéshez jelentkezzen be
EGYÉB POSTS Ebben a csoportban
X users who interacted with the chatbot Grok on Wednesday were confronted with replies about the legitimacy of white genocide in South Africa—often regardless of context.
In one post, a
It’s not just the “gesture” of a $400 million luxury plane that President
High-performance computing, or HPC for short, might sound like something only scientists u
Ever wonder why the sound of rain makes you instantly drowsy, but a ticking clock drives you up the wall? That’s because not all noise soothes the brain in the same way. Sleep sounds might seem li
Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has spent its first 100 days slashing
Uber is on Wednesday launching its own version of a bus system along busy routes, calling it its most affordable ride option yet.
The rideshare company has introduced Route Share, a new
Japanese technology and entertainment company Sony logged an 18% rise
