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Chinese tourist destroys with three swift kicks what nature took 3,000 years to build

Man makes three attempts to kick off top 30cm of limestone feature in act of senseless vandalism

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Limestone stalactites – such as in the Reed Flute cave in Guilin, China – grow just 10cm per 1,000 years. Photo: Shutterstock
Frank Tangin Beijing

It takes nature hundreds of thousands of years to create limestone stalagmites in scenic caves, but only a few seconds for a badly behaved tourist to damage them.

Such was the case in southwest China when a young man deliberately destroyed a 50cm stalagmite at a cave in Songtao county, Guizhou province, adding yet another entry to the list of Chinese tourists’ obnoxious behaviour, the Beijing Youth Daily reported on Friday.

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Surveillance cameras caught the white-shirted man trying to kick off the stalagmite on the side of the main path in the cave, while other tourists were taking photos of the natural marvels. He made three attempts to eventually knock off a 30cm-long tip and then walked away without taking it, the footage showed.

The scenic attraction’s administrators contacted local police, but the man has not yet been found.

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