A tourist village in China’s south western province of Sichuan famed for its scenic snow landscape said it was sorry for using cotton wool and soapy water to create fake snow after online criticism from visitors went viral.

In a post on its official WeChat account on February 8, the Chengdu Snow Village project said during the Lunar New Year holiday at the end of January, the weather was warm and the village did not take shape as anticipated.

China is facing hotter and longer heatwaves and more frequent and unpredictable heavy rain as a result of climate change, the country’s weather bureau has warned.

“In order to create a ‘snowy’ atmosphere the tourist village purchased cotton for the snow,” the Chengdu Snow Village project said in the statement.

After receiving feedback from the majority of netizens, the tourist area began to clean up all the cotton.

The village said it “deeply apologises” for the changes and that tourists could get a refund.

The site has since been closed.

Photos on WeChat showed large cotton wool sheets strewn about the grounds, only partially covering leafy areas.

A thick snow layer appeared to blanket the houses in the zone but as you got closer, it was all cotton, said one netizen.

“A snow village without snow,” said another user.

“In today’s age of well-developed Internet, scenic spots must advertise truthfully and avoid deception or false advertising, otherwise they will only shoot themselves in the foot.” (ABC News)