This bizarrely-shaped rock formation has started drawing huge crowds of tourists. (Image: AP/Guo Qingshan)
An unusual mountain has become latest hotspot, drawing in huge crowds after a social media post gathered 120,000 likes in just 10 days.
The mountain, dubbed “Puppy Mountain”, sits in the city of Yichang in Hubei province.
Shanghai-based designer, Guo Qingshan, shared a holiday snap on Valentine’s Day after the mountain, which resembles a dog’s head resting on the ground next to the , caught his attention during his trip in January.
Posted on the Chinese social media platform Weibo, the hashtag #xiaogoushan – Chinese for Puppy Mountain – has since drawn millions of views.
“It was so magical and cute. I was so excited and happy when I discovered it,” Mr Guo said.
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Visitors have been flocking to the site in their hundreds, even bringing along their own dogs. (Image: AP/Tan Yuanyi)
Since then, others have been flocking to the site in their hundreds – even bringing along their own – to take their own photos.
“Puppy Mountain here I am!” one social media user wrote on RedNote along with photos of the mountain. “Just stroke the puppy’s head and then everything will be OK.”
Another said: “We all need the eyes to see the beauty in this world.”
The mountain sits along the longest river in China and the third-longest river worldwide and can be viewed from an observation deck.
While the rock formation may have only just started gathering significant attention, some residents have known of its existence for years. Yichang resident Shi Tong posted a photo he took near the mountain in 2021: “After I saw the Puppy Mountain photo online, I tried to look up where it is. And then I realised that I have been to this place before.
“I thought it looked like a dog at that time too.”
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Yang Yang, meanwhile, often meakes the hour-and-a-half drive from her home to visit the mountain with her young grey poodle, Yang Keyi.
“I was really happy to see the mountain,” she said. “I always travel with my dog if possible, so Puppy Mountain and my own little dog really match.”
Rock formations resembling animals – and even humans – can be seen in a number of places across the world.
In , a huge rock formation which resembles a lion’s head is located between Ajaccio and . According to legend, the “Lion of Roccapina” is a petrified nobleman, nicknamed “the Lion” by the Saracens, who was turned to stone after invoking death out of despair due to a young woman refusing his love.
Meanwhile, the island of Gotland in the Hoburgen peninsula, there is a limestone sea stack – eroded by the ocean – known as Hoburgsgubben (Old Man of Hoburgen) which depicts a face with a pronounced nose.