A popular Chinese tourist village, famous for its winter wonderland scenery, has issued an apology for artificially creating "snow" using cotton wool and soapy water after unseasonably warm weather ruined the natural snow.

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The warm weather hit Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, during the Lunar New Year holiday in late January, disappointing tourists who had been looking forward to enjoying snow at the city's snow village.

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The Chengdu Snow Village project attempted to replicate its typical winters with artificial snow, posting photos on social media which tourists called misleading.

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"A snow village without snow"

Images circulating online revealed massive sheets of cotton wool scattered around the village, covering buildings and grounds, in an attempt to mimic snow. However, the village didn't publicly acknowledge the artificial snow, leaving many social media users to discover the truth on their own.

"A snow village without snow," said one user.

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In a statement on the Chinese social media app Wechat, the village said it "deeply apologises" and offered visitors a refund.

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"In order to create a 'snowy' atmosphere the tourist village purchased cotton for the 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 said in the statement.

The fake snow has reportedly been removed from the tourist area. Meanwhile, China's weather bureau has cautioned that the country is experiencing increasingly severe and unpredictable weather patterns, including longer heatwaves and heavier rainfall, due to the impacts of climate change.

(With inputs from agencies)