Visitors to a flower exhibit in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia have a specific way of showing their appreciation for its beautiful display of color: by taking it home with them. An estimated 10,000 plants were taken by exhibit visitors, racking up a total loss of RMB 1.5 million.

The event was actually scheduled to wrap-up on October 10, but was extended by the host. The media then reported on the extension, saying, “Chrysanthemum exhibit extended, hope residents can continue to enjoy plants without taking them.”

This, needless to say, didn’t work. So many people began taking flowers from the exhibit that workers gave up trying to stop them. Here’s what it looked like before the looters arrived:

But in the end, nothing was left except soil on the ground, and dust in the wind:

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Photos: Southern Capital Report