The mayor of Lanzhou, capital of Northwest China's Gansu province, says the provincial government is handling a case in which a netizen posted online pictures of him wearing luxury watches.

Yuan Zhanting told the Shanghai-based newspaper the Oriental Morning Post, which published the pictures on its website, he was aware of the case.

Online posts said 51-year-old Yuan has worn at least five luxury watches, including a Vacheron Constantin one worth more than 200,000 yuan ($32,000) and an Omega watch worth 150,000 yuan, the report said.

A micro blog user, whose real name has been verified and who uses the Net name Zhou Lubao, disclosed the information and pictures, and told the paper he collected Yuan's photos three months ago.

In September, in a separate case, the former chief of the Shaanxi provincial work safety department was sacked for serious disciplinary violations after pictures of him wearing luxury watches were posted online, triggering an investigation.