How about zero points for effort?

A zoo in southern China has been heavily criticised after visitors found that its penguin exhibit was filled only with inflatable toys.

Worse, it only had a handful of other enclosures, housing pretty commonly-found livestock such as roosters and geese.

The Guishan zoo, which only recently opened in China's Yulin city, had advertised itself as place where visitors could see rare animals and learn more about wildlife.

Image: 南方都市报 /weibo

Instead visitors found geese, roosters, a single turtle, and a tub full of inflatable penguins — pretty much everything you'd find within a stone's throw in China's countryside.

Turtles are considered to bring longevity in Chinese culture, and it is common to throw coins or bank notes at them for good luck.

Image: 南方都市报 /WEIBO

Image: 南方都市报 /WEIBO

The zoo, the first in Yulin, charged visitors $2.25 for a single ticket.

Image: 南方都市报 /WEIBO

The Guishan zoo had also earlier put up banners featuring penguins, saying that there would be a "special display" at the zoo. Well technically, there were penguins, and it was pretty special.

Most people on Chinese social media site Weibo found the situation hilarious.

"You forgot the other animals like mosquitoes, ants, flies, and mice that are displayed at the zoo," said one user on Weibo.

"This zoo takes its wildlife protection seriously. The best way to protect the animals is not to have them in a zoo," said another user.

"Boss! Our exhibit is leaking!" another joked.

The zoo has since closed, with an unnamed owner telling the Nanguo Morning Post that the exhibit had been set up by a contractor.

She added that she did not know there would be inflatable animals until they were on display.

Amazingly, this isn't the first Chinese venue to pull off the same tactic.

Earlier this year a park in the Chinese province of Jiangsu advertised that penguins from the South Pole would be brought in. Naturally, they turned out to be inflatable penguins.

The event organiser later clarified that they hadn't mentioned that the penguins would be real and not toys.

Sometimes there's just no winning.