The proposed design of the North Nanjing train station in China which looks like a ‘sanitary pad’ has stirred up discussion among Chinese internet users, but not for the reasons authorities might have hoped.
While officials claim the design draws inspiration from the city’s famous plum blossoms, online commentators have been quick to note its striking similarity to a sanitary pad.
“This is a giant sanitary pad. It’s embarrassing to say it looks like a plum blossom,” said one comment on social media site Weibo.
The topic has generated millions of views across various Chinese social media platforms.
“Why can we all tell it is a sanitary pad immediately, but the architects can’t?” one Weibo user said.
“I think we should take this chance to call for society to pay attention to period shaming. This design is ahead of its time,” another user joked.
According to the state-owned newspaper Nanjing Daily, the preliminary design was greenlit by the government of Jiangsu Province and China State Railway Group.
Construction is due to begin in the first half of 2024, according to local media.
According to a 2017 report by the Nanjing Morning News, the train station is estimated to cost some 20 billion Chinese yuan ($2,763 million; £2,224 million), and will sit across a total area of 37.6 square kilometres (14 square miles).
This is not the first architecture project in China that has drawn unexpected attention.
The headquarters of state broadcaster CCTV in the capital Beijing is known to many in China as the “big boxer shorts” building for its unique shape.