A look at "Puppy Mountain" in Yichang, a city in Hubei, China. AP Photo
A simple vacation photo has turned an ordinary mountain into a viral sensation in China. On Valentine’s Day, Shanghai-based designer Guo Qingshan posted a picture from his trip to Yichang in Hubei province. He jokingly called it “Puppy Mountain” because the mountain looked like a giant dog’s head resting by the Yangtze River.
Guo took the photo during a hike in late January. He didn’t notice the unusual shape at first, but when he reviewed his pictures, he saw something amazing. The mountain’s snout seemed to touch the water as if the “dog” was drinking from the river.
“It was so magical and cute,” Guo said. “I was excited and happy when I discovered it.”
The photo quickly grabbed attention on Chinese social media. Within ten days, it got 120,000 likes on one platform. On another, the hashtag #xiaogoushan (meaning “Puppy Mountain”) gained millions of views. People started comparing the mountain to their own dogs, sharing pictures to see which pet resembled it most.
The excitement didn’t stop online. Many curious travelers headed to Yichang to see “Puppy Mountain” for themselves. Some even brought their dogs to take pictures. Yang Yang, who lives about an hour and a half away, drove there with her friends and her two-year-old poodle, Yang Keyi.
“I was really happy to see the mountain,” she said. “I always take my dog on trips, so visiting Puppy Mountain was perfect.”
The mountain sits in Zigui County, Yichang, where visitors can see it from an observation deck. It overlooks the Yangtze River, which is China’s longest river and the third-longest in the world.
As the photo went viral, more people realized they had seen the mountain before. Some searched through old pictures and found they had unknowingly captured the same view. Many shared their past photos, surprised they hadn’t noticed the dog shape earlier.
Yichang resident Shi Tong was one of them. He posted a picture he took of the same spot back in 2021.
“After I saw the Puppy Mountain photo online, I tried to find out where it was,” he said. “Then I realized I had been there before. I thought it looked like a dog back then too!”
The sudden fame of Puppy Mountain has turned it into an unexpected tourist attraction. As more people visit, it may soon become a well-known landmark in China.
