"Pandas are amazing animals," said Chinese photographer Zhou Mengqi on Saturday at the opening ceremony of his two-day photo exhibition on the giant pandas held in Thailand's Chiang Mai Zoo.

The exhibition, titled Giant Panda and Its Hometown, displays 62 photos including those recording the life of wild giant pandas taken by Zhou in the past 27 years.

"Photographing is my hobby," said Zhou. 

"The fact that our foreign friends love them so much at the first sight has inspired me to devote myself to recording the life of giant pandas in China's Sichuan and Shaanxi provinces since then."

"I want to show the daily life, the habitat and the living environment of the animal to their fans around the world."

"There are two giant pandas from China here in the Chiang Mai Zoo and that's the reason why I have chosen this place for the exhibition," he said.

"I hope more Thai people will become interested in the hometown of giant pandas, and the exhibition and the love for giant pandas will bring the peoples of China and Thailand closer," he added.

Komsan Suwan-ampa, deputy governor of Chiangmai Province, said at the opening ceremony that the two pandas, Lin Hui and Chuang Chuang, are the symbol of the friendship of the two countries and he hoped that the exhibition would further enhance the friendship.

Jinnapat Chuchao, who works for the Panda House of the zoo, told the Xinhua News Agency that she was so touched by the exhibition which showed the progress made in the protection of wild giant pandas in China.

"I really want to visit China again to see giant pandas there," she said.

Supported by the Chinese Consulate General in Chiang Mai and Chiang Mai Province, the event is jointly held by the Chengdu municipality of Sichuan Province of China and the Chiang Mai Zoo of Thailand.

Chiang Mai is the third place to host the artist's solo photo exhibition after Adelaide in Australia and Tokyo in Japan.