A newly opened shop in Shanghai looks like a regular supermarket, with all the daily groceries you might need. But if you go there to pick up an item or two, don’t be surprised to find them empty.

This is not a prank. Instead, it is the first time that the XU ZHEN Supermarket exhibition has come out of the gallery to become an actual “store.”

XU ZHEN Supermarket is a mixed media installation created in 2007. It features a real cash register, counters, shelves, refrigerator and dozens of consumer products—only the products are just empty packages. The “supermarket” had been displayed at Art Basel Miami Beach, New York James Cohan Gallery, Beijing Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, Singapore ShanghART Gallery, Seoul Museum of Art, Shanghai Art Museum and Graz Art Museum in Austria. This is the first time it has opened outside of a museum or gallery.

XU ZHEN Supermarket is open 24 hours a day. Although all the items sold in the store are empty, there are no visible traces of the items having been previously unpacked. So far, senior citizens seem to be having a difficult time understanding XU ZHEN Supermarket, but young people are very interested in the store.

Three customers from Germany became the first people to make actual purchases. They bought a can of coke and a can of beer, planning to use the objects for pranks.

The artist explains that XU ZHEN Supermarket tries to break the boundary between art and commodity and reflect the power of business. In the meantime, it is also an exploration of how capital affects cultural exchange through customers’ reactions and feelings. Many find it fulfilling to peruse the full shelves; then they hesitate about what to buy and eventually discover that the items are empty.