China has had a thing for the U.S. Capitol and the White House, using their designs as inspirations for various Chinese government buildings and now, a bathroom.

The Golden Seed winery in Fuyang city erected a 4,000 square foot facility featuring the Romanesque dome and columns found on Capitol Hill in Washington. But inside the elaborate building are toilets for staff and visitors to use. It was brought to light by local farmer Wu Ketao, who was visiting the winery with a friend. “I took the pictures because the toilet looked very luxury and reminded me of Capitol Hill,” Wu told The Washington Post. “I did not expect it to become a headline.”

The knockoff isn’t the first in China. Replicas of the White House were built in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Hunan and Jiangxi provinces. In one city, Wuxi in Jiangsu province, there are four White House-style court buildings.

Chinese officials decided last year enough was enough and ordered a five-year moratorium on anymore D.C. copycats.

Fuyang created a controversy seven years ago by constructing a White House-like building that cost $4.3 million. The price tag outraged many local residents, especially farmers who make an average of only $285 a year. Local government and Communist Party officials were forced to resign in the wake of the spending revelation.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

To Learn More:

A Restroom that Looks Like the U.S. Capitol? Yes, There’s One in China (by William Wan and Gu Jinglu, Washington Post)

Many Provinces and Cities, "White House Style" Exposure Wuxi Courthouse has Four (Xinhuanet)

China Orders Ban on New Government Buildings (by Keith Bradsher, New York Times)