A LANDMARK large boulder that sits on the top of a mountain peak and is a popular tourist destination has been exposed as fake.
Two hikers made the unbelievable discovery while the boulder was closed off for works on Wutong Mountain, overlooking the city of Shenzhen, China.
Many come to see the mountain’s lush nature with a stunning view of the city, alongside what’s known as the “First Peak of Pengcheng”.
At the site, there is a massive stone sitting at the edge of a cliff which is also immensely popular with tourists taking pictures and videos.
But one visitor discovered to the shock of many that the boulder is actually man-made in the latest Chinese forgery scandal.
The Wutong Mountain Scenic Area Management Office issued a notice on 25 October announcing that the area around the rock would be closed for safety renovations.
During this time, two climbers who reached the peak filmed the rock which has bizarrely been fenced off – and were left fuming when they realised it wasn’t real.
To the shock of many, the boulder is captured with a large hole on one side, exposing an inner structure made of bricks – not stone.
The stone also has a “no climbing” sign, which many had apparently presumed to be in place because of its historical and cultural significance.
But now it appears to be in case visitors were able to spot that the boulder was fake.
One person captioned the clip shared on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, with the words: “No wonder the mountain has to be closed for repairs, it turns out this big rock is fake.”
The management office shamefully confirmed that the rock was built in 2004.
It was created using reinforced steel and cement to imitate natural stone.
The current repairs focus on reinforcing the internal structure and are expected to be completed by 28 November – but it’s hard to tell whether many will be visiting the landmark after its exposure.
It’s not the first time China has been outed for faking landmarks – and even zoo animals.
In June 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.
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.
And a Chinese zoo was slammed after visitors realised the “pandas” in the enclosures were actually painted dogs.
Zoo visitors demanded their money back when two so-called pandas in an enclosure bizarrely began panting and barking.
Footage shows two odd looking “pandas” in an enclosure, with one furry animal sticking its tongue out towards the sun.
Clips taken by visitors appear to show the pups with black ears, limbs, and dark circles around their eyes, but their canine features are still very much apparent.
The footage was shot at a park in Guangyuan that allows visitors to see “rare and exotic animals”.
The zoo claimed it had not misled people as it didn’t declare the animals were pandas, explaining instead that they were, in reality, “panda dogs“.
