Giant QR code made with trees

In a bid to promote local tourism, a village in China has built a huge QR code that can be scanned from the sky. Pictures circulating on social media show the giant QR code that is made from over one lakh trees.

Built in Xilinshui, Baoding City in China's Hebei Province, the QR code links to the official WeChat tourism account of the village. Interested tourists can then find information about the village through the code.

The giant QR code is built with over 1,30,000 Chinese juniper trees and sprawls across a 227 meter field, reports Shanghai Expat.

According to South China Morning Post, Xilinshui was named 'the most beautiful village in Hebei' back in 2015. The village was granted 1.1 million yuan ($168,000) by the government for development and renovation purposes.

Will this promotional tactic help bring in more tourists, only time will tell.

Chinese shoppers are increasingly using QR codes in their everyday lives, and especially for making quick payments. The little codes, made from a pattern of black-and-white squares, can store information - for example, the cost of an item, or cooking instructions for a food.

Waiters can sometimes be seen with QR badges pinned to their shirts, so happy customers can scan them to leave a tip.

Even beggars have been pictured displaying the codes to encourage donations.

Mammoth QR codes have been used to drum up business before. In 2013, Chinese developer Vanke built a striking 6,400 sq metre (20,000 sq ft) code near a housing construction site in Hefei, Anhui province. When scanned, it played sights and sounds designed to entice would-be homeowners.