Natural progression?

But while scientists wrack their brains for a solution, others feel nature should be left to take its course.

"As the coastal landscape was made by erosion, the lifespan of the 'Queen's Head' is limited," says Pan Hansheng, an activist from the pro-environment Tree Party.

"I don't understand why we would want to freeze its lifespan."

The geopark conducted a survey of 1,200 people randomly picked across the island before going ahead with the paint tests.

Only 63 percent backed the scientific experiments and the survey sparked alternative less invasive suggestions, including encasing the formation in a glass cabinet.

"I would prefer a glass cabinet so that the rock can be sheltered from erosion," says Kin Kuoyen, a tourist from China's eastern Hangzhou city.

Kin was concerned that paints might damage the rock, while a glass case would preserve it.

"It's a marvelous spectacle-once gone, it will be gone forever," he says.