The first ever traditional Chinese painting exhibition with 50 pieces of paintings of tigers on show, began in Bengal Gallery in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka on Tuesday, attracting more than 200 people on the first day.

"The tigers are just like live ones. I like these paintings so much," said Parveen, a local journalist. "I thought Chinese paintings of horses, birds and flowers are very famous. But today I know the tigers paintings are also so nice," she said.

The paintings were all painted by Chinese farmers from Wanggong village, a village famous for its tiger paintings, in China's central Henan province.

"These paintings are on show in accordance with the ongoing Beijing Olympic Games to show the Chinese culture while Bangladesh' s national animal is also the Bengal Tiger," Culture Counsellor of Chinese Embassy in Bangladesh said during the opening ceremony.

"The exhibition shows China's traditional paintings painted by Chinese farmers. Not everyone can draw the tiger paintings," said Professor Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel Peace laureate for contribution on microcredit in 2006, who cut the ribbon at the opening ceremony.

He said, the brotherhood relationship between China and Bangladesh will be closer and closer as such culture communications as well as that in other sectors goes on.

He also spoke highly of the ongoing Beijing Olympic, terming the opening ceremony of Beijing Olympic as "fantastic."

"The games are held in the Bird's Nest, the National Stadium, and China became a nest of people all over the world. We should thank China for making all the people in the world so happy," he said.

The exhibition organized by Chinese embassy in Bangladesh will last till Aug. 19. Some of the painting are for sale.

(Xinhua News Agency August 13, 2008)