China scenic site panned for using cotton, soapy water as snow due to lack of winter weather

A tourist spot in China has apologised and shut down temporarily for making snow with cotton and soapy water to attract visitors after it did not receive the icy precipitation that it had expected.

Chengdu Snow Village, a newly-opened tourist zone in the suburban Chengdu, in southwestern Sichuan province, issued an apology on February 8 because of the artificial snow scene, the Shanghai Morning Post reported.

Since it opened at the end of January, it has been put under the spotlight after visitors complained that the “snow” piled on the top of cottages and scattered on forest paths was in fact cotton mixed with soapy water.

“I feel cheated. I think my intelligence has been insulted!” one tourist said in a video on a major social media platform.

“The description on its tickets is true, but the snow is fake,” wrote another outraged visitor.

Another added: “I wanted to see snow, but you showed me cotton. I am speechless.”