The publicity department in Nanning, capital of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, said on Monday it would investigate a WeChat post containing pictures of a banquet hosted by senior officials where a course including pangolin meat was served.

The WeChat post containing four pictures went viral on Monday, raising questions about the authenticity of the dish and triggering public criticism of the WeChat user who flaunted close ties with senior local government officials.

According to a report by Legal Evening News, a publicity department official said they were aware of the incident, which took place in 2015.

The report quoted the unnamed official as saying the department would investigate the incident and announce the results of its investigation at a later date.

The State Forestry Administration's department of animal protection responded to a request for information by Legal Evening News on Monday, saying that eating wild pangolin is an act that violates government regulations, and adding that it welcomes more detailed information regarding the post.

Legal Evening News said other pictures suggested the banquet was held for a business delegation from Hong Kong in 2015 and was likely reported by Wen Wei Po, a Hong Kong-based Chinese language newspaper, on page A17 of its July 15, 2015, edition.