A man takes photos at the Lao She exhibition at the Suez Canal University in Ismailia province, Egypt, on May 10, 2018. Egyptian Suez Canal University on Thursday opened a permanent exhibition on late Chinese novelist Lao She, the first such exhibition held outside China. (Xinhua)

ISMAILIA, Egypt, May 10 (Xinhua) -- An Egyptian university on Thursday opened a permanent exhibition on late Chinese novelist Lao She, the first such exhibition held outside of China.

The exhibition is located at the Suez Canal University in Egypt's Ismailia province, northeast of the capital Cairo.

The exhibition featured Arabic and Chinese captions, photos, documentaries and memorabilia, said Wang Hongying, director of Lao She Memorial Hall in Beijing.

Lao She was a celebrated Chinese novelist and playwright, best known for his novels "Rickshaw Boy," "Four Generations under One Roof" and the play "Teahouse."

Wang told Xinhua that the opening of the Lao She exhibition in Egypt marks the beginning of future cooperation between the Suez Canal University and Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage, to which Lao She Memorial Hall affiliates.

"The two sides will co-launch a permanent exhibition on Chinese culture at the end of this," Wang said.

In May 2017, the Suez Canal University also inaugurated an exhibition on late Chinese author and poet Guo Moruo.

After the opening ceremony, staff from Lao She Memorial Hall gave a brief training session to students who volunteered as the exhibition's guides.

"Working as volunteer guides, those students will surely acquire a better understanding of Lao She's life and works through this learning-by-doing practice," Wang explained, adding that the first batch of volunteers will pass on the knowledge of Lao She to younger students upon their graduation.

Nesma Mohamed, a fourth-year student at the university's Asian Languages and Literatures Department, told Xinhua that Lao She is one of the most-read Chinese authors in her class.

"My favorite Lao She works are 'Rickshaw Boy,' 'Divorce' and 'Mr. Ma and Son.' My friends and I somehow feel that the spirits of Lao She are still close to this generation," Mohamed said.