Han Meilin Art Museum in Xihu district, Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang province, on Jan 22 launched an exhibition of tiger-themed paintings by local adolescents.

Tiger-themed paintings hang on walls in the museum. [Photo/zj.zjol.com.cn]

On display were 155 award-winning paintings selected from some 6,000 entries of a contest. The winners of special awards and first prizes were invited to attend an award ceremony held on the first day of the exhibition and were pictured alongside their creations.

The upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year will be the Year of the Tiger in the Chinese lunar calendar. In Chinese culture, the tiger symbolizes bravery and strength.

The exhibition will run until March 22.

Winners of the painting contest receive their award certificates on the first day of the exhibition. [Photo/zj.zjol.com.cn]

Han Meilin, one of the best-known Chinese contemporary artists whom the museum is named after, praises the Hangzhou adolescents' creativity reflected from the contest, in a recorded video clip broadcast at the exhibition. [Photo/zj.zjol.com.cn]