The proposed design of a train station in the Chinese city of Nanjing has attracted the attention of Chinese internet users - for all the wrong reasons.

Authorities say the design of the North Nanjing station takes inspiration from plum blossoms, which the city is known for.

But online, others are pointing out its resemblance to something rather different - 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 news site 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.