A course for change or Dafen's 'Last Supper' ?

In Dafen, all roads lead to a central plaza where a statue of Leonardo da Vinci watches over a modern vista of art galleries and studios.

The Italian master is regarded by many as the patron saint of this 405-hectare oil painting village in eastern Shenzhen, which has thrived on selling replicas to the rest of the world. Now, though, he stands over a village in decline.

The global recession, especially in the United States property market, has dealt a major blow to the artists' colony-cum-painting factory, whose works hang on the walls of millions of American homes.