14 DAY TRIAL // When the Jibaozhai Museum opened in 2010, people were promised that, should they decide to visit it, they would feast their eyes on a unique collection of ancient relics.
Apparently, the collection was truly unique: it was made up of thousands of fakes.
Recent investigations have revealed that some 40,000 items put on display at this museum in China's Hebei province were no more and no less than knockoffs, The Telegraph reports.
Some had been bought for merely £10 (€11.5 / $15), while others had an estimated value of £215 (€248 / $325). Besides, they were poorly done.
Apparently, some relics said to be nearly 4,000 years old were inscribed with Chinese characters that only started being used in the 20th century.
When confronted by local authorities and ordinary folks, museum chief consultant Wei Yingjun said that, to his knowledge, the situation wasn't as bad as the press had made it sound like.
He argued that he was almost convinced that the museum housed at least 80 authentic artifacts.
Well, I suppose this makes it all OK. Unless it doesn't.
In the aftermath of this scandal, the museum was left with no choice except shut down. Some say it should reopen, and call itself “China's biggest fake item museum.”