Influencers have been blamed for promoting a "niche holiday resort" which was dramatically flooded earlier this week, claiming several lives.
Terrifying footage from Longcaogou in Southwest China's Sichuan Province shows a dried river bed which acts as an overflow route suddenly becoming a raging torrent.
In the clip, holidaymakers can be seen lying on the dried creek sunning themselves and enjoying picnics, before suddenly leaping to their feet and sprinting to safety against a roaring backdrop of water.
Some people can also be seen unable to get to the banks quickly enough, and finding themselves attempting to resist the flow as the water surrounds them.
Seven people have died as a result of flash floods in the region, and eight more have been injured.
Longcaogou has been widely recommended on social media platforms as a "new Instagram-worthy location" and a "niche holiday resort", Global News reports.
The valley's stunning scenery has been captured in posts promoting the wild spot on platforms including Little Red Book and Dazhong Dianping.
"It was so crowded that I couldn't even find a place to park," a man called Xu, who was visiting Longcaogou from Chengdu, told Jimu News,
People living in the area have said that the spillway river is not a formal scenic spot, and there are signs beside it warning "no entry".
They told China News Weekly that visiting the area during the rainy season is risky as "no one can predict when flash floods will suddenly occur."
A team of 500 rescuers have spent the past few days searching the valleys and rivers for lost tourists.
Large floods in 2015 and 2017 do not appear to have deterred people from visiting the area, neither have barbed wire fences and warning signs by the rivers.
Some influencers have published videos showing how to climb over the fence to enter the danger zone, Global News reports.
The incident is not the only example of tourists getting themselves into trouble searching for a "wild" attraction in recent years.
The U-shaped motorway 315 in Northwest China's Qinghai Province played host to a group of people looking to capture some interesting photos.
In doing so they forced passing vehicles to swerve and large trucks to suddenly stop.
In recent years there have been many incidents of people dying while visiting beautiful spots, particularly while taking selfies.
Cristina Valdeavellano Mansilla fell seven metres to her death at the Cerro de la Cruz observation deck in the city of Punta Arenas, in Chile's southernmost region of Magallanes and Chilean Antarctica, in November last year.
She had been sitting on the handrail at the viewpoint, trying to take a selfie with the cityscape in the background, it was reported.
The 33-year-old then backwards and landed hard on her head, killing her instantly.
