A photo of a hotel built between two hills has become a hit online after netizens joked it looked like a roujiamo (a kind of Chinese burger), Beijing Youth Daily reported on Wednesday.

The eight-floor structure in Yanchuan county, Shaanxi province, was built in 2016 and is only as far as 4 meters from the hills.

"The building was approved by various government departments before construction," an employee at the hotel said in response to questions about whether the building was legal.

The hotel was built after workers stabilized the surrounding hills, but it has put up signs warning guests of the possibility of falling rocks.