"The exhibition was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, we discovered many interesting stories between cats and humans during the pandemic, which we have collected and are showing to our audiences at this exhibition," says Lin.

One of the stories about cats and their owners has been shared by Xi'an native Miao Jiang, who adopted a cat in June.

"I always wanted to have a cat but my parents didn't agree. Now my cat is about 10 months old and she helped us endure this challenging time. She has provided us with emotional comfort," Miao says.

In December and January, Xi'an again battled a COVID-19 outbreak. Miao had to stay at home like many people in the city and her cat calmed her, lowered her stress levels and eased her loneliness by offering companionship.