Chinese maze: Village makes giant tech code from trees

At first glance, it could be the courtly maze of an English country manor - albeit with some rather large gaps. But a tech-savvy eye will instantly see the green design for what it is - a massive QR code.

These high-tech barcodes are hugely popular in China as a way to make cashless payments on a smartphone. Xilinshui village, in the northern Hebei province, has created one from trees in a bid to raise its profile.

The design was made from 130,000 Chinese junipers and can be scanned from above using a phone or tablet. It is not clear how high above the trees you would have to be to scan it - or how you might get there - but visitors who successfully capture the code will be connected to the village's tourism account on WeChat, a Chinese social media site.

UCJ, UNILORIN.