CHONGQING, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- An exhibition of 200 dog-themed curios opened Wednesday at the Three Gorges Museum in southwest China's Chongqing to welcome the approaching Chinese Lunar Year of the Dog.

The exhibition includes pottery, porcelain, jade, paintings and paper cuts.

There are exhibits showing the origin of the Chinese zodiac, the daily life of Chinese dogs and customs of Spring Festival, according to Guan Xiaorui with the museum.

Pottery animals such as chickens and dogs were often buried with the dead during the Han dynasty (202 B.C. -- 220 A.D.) and dog-shaped items unearthed in southwest China's Sichuan and Chongqing are often tall and straight, implying that people in the region were rich at that time, she added.

Chinese zodiac assigns one animal to represent each year in a 12-year cycle. The year of dog begins on Feb. 16.