They thought they would see picturesque snowy landscapes, but visitors are disappointed with the Chinese village - it had been covered in cotton and white sand

Tourists who traveled to a snowy village in China discovered that the winter destination was not as they had expected.

Officials at Chengdu Snow Village in China's southwestern Sichuan province, famous for its picturesque snowy landscape, surprised visitors after they realized they had been tricked upon closer inspection of the scene.

Instead of piles of snow covering the village's wooden huts, officials had covered the buildings with cotton wool, white sand and soap bubbles to trick visitors into believing they were entering a winter wonderland.

In reality, the village - a new attraction for Sichuan province - had not seen snow due to the warm weather, the Telegraph reports.

Officials later said they regretted using cotton wool and other items 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 in late January, the weather was warm and the snow village did not take shape as expected.

China is facing hotter and longer heat waves, and more frequent and unpredictable heavy rains as a result of climate change, China's weather bureau has warned.

"To create a 'snowy' atmosphere, the tourist village purchased cotton for snow but it did not achieve the expected effect, leaving a very bad impression on tourists who came to visit," the Chengdu Snow Village project statement said. /Telegraph/