A government office building in Youxian county, Hunan province, has been the subject of online controversy for its massive size and luxurious decor, South China Metropolis Daily reported on Thursday.

The photos, posted online Nov 2 by a Youxian county resident under the screen name ljm zoe, drew criticism from Internet users, who slammed the county government for extravagant spending.

On Nov 4, ljm zoe deleted the photos and wrote an apology to the county government, but the website restored the deleted photos.

The design plan showed the total floor area of the luxury building was some 100,000 sq meters with a total investment of 270 million yuan ($44 million).

The structure features a 15-story main building and four 4-story buildings for the county's 58 governmental departments and units.

The county also paid about 5 million yuan for the furniture in the buildings.