Seven tourists were killed and eight injured after a huge flood hit a valley in Sichuan province in western China last week.
The disaster on August 13 in a valley in Pengzhou, in a remote corner of the county, has reignited fears about ‘wild trips’ being advertised to young people on social media.
Influencers and their platforms are facing calls to act responsibly when advocating trips that could be dangerous, The Guardian reports.
A video showing the floodwater pummel through the valley and sweep away people caught in its path has since gone viral on social media.
State-run media outlet the Global Times said: ‘Warning signs and chain-link fences have been erected and even security personnel were dispatched to warn off visitors, but those measures proved mostly ineffective.’
Tourists crossing the river in Pengzhou in Sichuan valley, China, were overwhelmed by the sudden flash flood
Pengzhou valley (pictured) has become a designated ‘wild trip’ on social media, but Chinese influencers have been criticised over potential dangers for travellers
‘Wild trips’ or ‘yeyou’ in Chinese, took off as a social media phenomenon in 2020, and sees youngsters travel to off-grid locations for adventures.
Once such place is the Sichuan Valley, which has been billed as a haven of ‘secret resorts’ by influencers on Douyin – the Chinese version of Tiktok – and Little Red Book, which is similar to Instagram.
As a result, obscure regions are becoming notorious travel spots for youths within relatively shorts spaces of time.
But the country’s wild landscape represents a danger for those unfamiliar with the terrain. The Sichuan Valley, known locally as ‘Longcaogou’ is a flood discharge channel, which regularly has flashfloods and mudslides.
The disaster took place on August 13 in a valley in Pengzhou, in a remote corner of Sichuan province, western China
It is thought Covid travel restrictions played a part in changing people’s holiday choices, with many choosing the wild trips instead of traditional destinations.
‘When it comes to scenic spots that haven’t been commercially developed and pose potential safety risks, media platforms should have the obligation to issue safety alerts and monitor the content,’ said Xu Guilin, a partner at Beijing law firm Jurisino, in a news report by Beijing Youth Daily.
‘Publishers of such content should also remind the public of the potential danger that a destination entails. If not, both platforms and publishers should bear a certain amount of legal responsibility.’
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