When Shanghai-based designer Guo Qingshan posted a vacation photo on Valentine’s Day and captioned it “Puppy Mountain,” it became a sensation in China and even created a tourist destination.
Guo had gone on a hike while visiting his hometown of Yichang in central China’s Hubei province in late January. When reviewing the photos, he saw something he hadn’t noticed before: A mountain shaped like a dog’s head rested on the ground next to the Yangtze River, its snout perched at the water’s edge.
“It was so magical and cute. I was so excited and happy when I discovered it,” Guo 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,” he said.
Guo’s post on Chinese social media app Xiaohongshu, or RedNote, received 120,000 likes within 10 days. On the media platform Weibo, the hashtag #xiaogoushan – Chinese for “Puppy Mountain” – drew millions of views.
Dog owners started to post pictures of their dogs to see which one had the closest resemblance. Many people travelled directly to the location in Yichang to see the mountain for themselves and some even brought their dogs to take 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 social media user commented: “We all need the eyes to see the beauty in this world.”
