Travellers are racing to visit this so-called “Puppy Mountain” which has become China’s newest tourist attraction.

The rock formation gained popularity after Guo Qingshan, a designer from Shanghai, posted a photograph on social media with the caption “Puppy Mountain”. 

Since the picture was posted on Valentine’s Day, hundreds of visitors have made their way to the mountain, which lies along Yangtze River – one of the world’s longest.

The designer decided to take a hike whilst he was in his hometown of Yichang, and when he looked back at the pictures he had taken, he realised that the mountain in the background resembled a dog’s head resting on the ground by the river.

The picture was then posted on RedNote’s social media platform and quickly went viral, gaining 120,000 likes in just 10 days.

Over on platform Weibo, the hashtag “xiaogoushan” which translates as “Puppy Mountain” attracted millions of views.

Guo Qingshan described the attraction as “magical and cute”, adding that he was both “excited and happy” to discover the unqiue mountain shaoe.

He said: “The puppy’s posture is like it’s drinking water, or it’s looking at some fish. It also looks like it’s quietly protecting the Yangtze River.”

And shortly after the photo made the rounds on social media, dog owners made their way to the location, and shared their own snaps in front of the mountain.

“Puppy Mountain here I am. Just stroke the puppy’s head and then everything will be ok,” one person wrote on RedNote along with their own photos of the new tourist attraction

Another person added: “We all need the eyes to see the beauty in this world.”

Yang Yang, who lives an hour and a half away from the location, travelled there with her two friends and 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.”

Shi Tong, a Yichang local said: “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 the time too!”