A zoo in China with a paltry line-up of animals, including inflatable penguins and a single tortoise, has drawn laughs and derision from Chinese netizens.

The zoo opened recently in China's Yulin city, which is usually in the news for its annual dog meat festival, Chinese news site The Cover reported on Thursday (Nov 30).

The Guishan zoo put out an advertisement saying it had a "penguin invasion", and added that the zoo had activities on Nov 25 and Nov 26, which could "educate visitors about living creatures".

A banner, which shows animals such as an ostrich, a peacock, a crocodile and penguins from the animated film Madagascar, proclaims: "Where to go this weekend? A new zoo has moved in - come visit."

Photos going viral on China's Twitter-like site Sina Weibo show scenes at the zoo.

One shot shows six inflatable penguins in an "enclosure". Another shows a single blow-up penguin in a moat, with children looking on.

Other sights at the zoo include a few roosters in a cage, some geese and a "longevity tortoise" that supposedly invites luck. It was placed in a clear fish tank and several dollar bills and coins had been tossed inside.

One Sina Weibo user posted photos of the "zoo" and wrote: "My friends happily bought three tickets to the new zoo and thought they could go see some animals, but who knew when they went in...(this was what they saw)".

Another user sarcastically marvelled at the "rare, wild animals".

"Yes, there are even penguins! I laughed until my face cramped," he wrote.

In 2013, an "African lion" in a zoo in Henan was revealed to be a Tibetan mastiff when it barked.