A man takes photos in a permanent exhibition on Lao She at the Suez Canal University in Egypt's Ismailia province, northeast of the capital Cairo, on May 10, 2018. (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 outside of China.

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

Featuring Arabic and Chinese captions, photos, documentaries and memorabilia, the exhibition is the first permanent Lao She exhibition outside China, said Wang Hongying, director of Lao She Memorial Hall in Beijing.

Lao She (1899-1966) was a celebrated Chinese novelist and dramatist, best known for his novels "Rickshaw Boy" and "Four Generations under One Roof," and the play "Teahouse."

Wang told Xinhua that the opening of Lao She exhibition 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 launch a permanent exhibition on Chinese culture at the end of this," Wang said.

In May 2017, the Suez Canal University also inaugurated a permanent 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 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.