Don't Trust the Art Students

This weekend our program took us all to the Forbidden City. Once inside the city some local chinese got the attention of our group and told us they were from the Beijing Art School and were holding an exhibit. My friends and I went along with the large group from our school to check it out. Once inside, Igor (one of my friends here) commented on what kind of art exhibit tries to sell all of their works of art. I also found this strange but I guess quite a few of the students didn't. After this realization, Igor and I decided to bail and retreat into the shade to wait for the rest of our friends to leave the "exhibit." One of our friends ended up buying a scroll painting for quite hefty price. They told her that all of the art in the "exhibit" was original and done by either students or professors at the school. The painting included 2 pandas that looked like a 4 year old had drawn. It got quite a few laughs out of us at the time but it was even funnier when we discovered the exact same paintings later on at the Pearl Market--so much for the supposed original work of art at the exhibit. Other students got ripped off even worse and paid as much as $100 US for these paintings. So if you ever go to the Forbidden City, remember, don't trust the art students...