An exhibition displaying China Daily artists' illustrations and caricature works opened on Thursday at the campus of North China University of Technology in Beijing.

"These works will help the students learn more about newspapers, the society, the world and China's external publicity," Wu Wanyun, secretary of the Party committee of North China University of Technology, said at the opening ceremony for China Daily's Exhibition of Illustrations and Caricatures.

The exhibition, first held at North China University of Technology, was organized by China Daily and displayed about 400 illustrations and caricatures from eight fine art editors of the newspaper. Some of them have been awarded national or international news prizes.

The idea of holding the exhibition came from a China Daily illustration and caricature seminar in March. During the discussion, experts and deans of some universities suggested an exhibition tour of China Daily's illustrations and caricatures at universities across the country.

They said the exhibition offers an opportunity for teachers and students to communicate with China Daily, to know more about China's external publicity and the future development of newspaper illustrations and caricatures in China.

"We organized such an activity to collect students' suggestions to improve our work, and we also hope these illustrations and caricatures can inspire and help art students with their study," said Kang Bing, vice-president of China Daily.

Zhou Kechen, a freshman studying graphic design at North China University of Technology, said, "we also draw illustrations and caricatures in our study, but I have to say that the editors' works on display are really creative, impressive and inspiring, and I learned a lot from them. "

Chen Danqi, a sophomore studying English, said he reads the newspaper often. "I read the articles together with the illustrations and caricatures, and I find that the articles with these vivid and interesting pictures are more attractive, because they are much easier to understand."

Chen said she is excited about the exhibition as she gets a chance to learn more about the English-language newspaper.

The exhibition will last for two weeks at the university before the curtain drops on May 9. After that, the exhibition will head for its second stop at Tsinghua University in mid-May.