Dafen, a suburb of Shenzhen, just across the former border from Hong Kong, is the world's leading centre for mass-produced works of art, churning out some five million paintings a year � most of them copies of famous masterpieces. The fastest workers can complete up to 30 paintings a day.

An estimated 60 per cent of the world's cheap oil paintings are produced here. Exports in 2005 totalled $36 million in value. Art dealers arrive from as far away as Europe and the United States and buy copies by the freight container, while many others place orders online.

Graduates of the top Chinese art academies are regularly recruited, and can command more than $1,000 per painting, though they're not expected to work fast. But the professional copyists can be counted upon for a few dollars to whip up a Mona Lisa, or if you prefer, your girlfriend's face on the Mona Lisa.

See Der Spiegel's survey of the scene here and a sampling of one Dafen factory's work here. I've got a writeup and a few pics on my weblog as well.