Alternative entry method

For Ke, the atmosphere was the most frustrating thing, because once they sat in front of a canvas the students remained there for hours.

"I wanted to stand up and walk around for a bit of relaxation, but everyone was painting so attentively that it gave me a sense of guilt, as if I was wasting my time," she said.

For many high school students, fine art offers an alternative way of gaining entry to a decent university without having to achieve high grades in academic courses.

Unlike other art majors, such as music and dance which require years of practice, the fine art exam is easier to cram for. With the intensity of art studio training, even students with little background can take crash courses because art exams have fixed scoring points that test basic skills.

Ke said she decided to pursue fine art out of wholehearted passion. At high school, she set herself the goal of attending the School of Architecture of the China Academy of Art because she admired Wang Shu, a well-known architect and the school's dean. That prompted her to sign up for the studio in Hangzhou.

The intensive training made her change her mind. "During my time, I drew a large number of test subjects that appeared in the China Academy of Art admission exams, and I realized there was a gap between what I had expected and the reality," she said.

"The training really suppressed my interest to a certain extent. When I painted the same thing to a level of boredom, it gave rise to a utilitarian mentality in me. I didn't feel as passionate about painting as I did at the beginning."