A notice banning wedding photography at the site of a fancy court building in southwest China's Sichuan province has sparked a flurry of criticism from netizens.

The Intermediate People's Court of the city of Mianyang, which happens to resemble the facade of Washington, D.C.'s Capitol Hill, has become a popular place for local newlyweds to shoot wedding photos.

A picture showing a notice that reads "wedding picture shooting forbidden" in front of the building was posted online by a microblogger last month. Netizens forwarded the photo and criticized the policy in multiple blog posts.

News commentator Zhu Yonghua wrote in a Friday article on southcn.com that the true motive behind the ban is the court's fear of attracting public attention, as the extravagant building may be in violation of the central government's construction regulations.

A court employee who requested anonymity said he has not seen the notice. "Part of the building is still under construction, so it is possible that the notice was put up temporarily to prevent the construction from being affected by photographers," he said.

Construction on the building started in 2004 and was largely completed by 2009, when netizens began to criticize the building for being "too luxurious."

China has seen a series of media reports and online discussions regarding extravagantly designed government buildings in recent years, during which time the central government has tightened construction regulations for government buildings.