NAIROBI, July 14 (Xinhua) -- China will open a two-day education exhibition on Friday in the Kenyan capital Nairobi to promote local understanding about the Asian country's higher education and attract more Kenyan students to study in China.

The exhibition has attracted 122 representatives from 55 famous Chinese colleges and universities, who will make introductions, distribute brochures and answer questions about education in China.

Kenyan college and middle school teachers and students will be among the main beneficiaries of the exhibition that will be graced by both Chinese and Kenyan government officials.

China has stepped up cooperation with Kenya in the area of education, offering 40 scholarships to Kenyan students per year to study in Chinese universities since 1982.

On average, there are about 300 students studying in Chinese colleges and universities at any given time. Up to now, more than 1,200 Kenyans have received training in China in the areas of agriculture, hydro-electricity, education and finance.

Last April, the Ministry of Education of China and Kenya's Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology signed an Agreement on Educational Exchanges and Cooperation for the Period of 2011 to 2015.

This year the China Scholarship Council offered 46 scholarships to Kenyan students whereas Beijing Municipal Government granted ten postgraduate scholarships to Kenya.

In 2010, the Chinese government initiated the "Africa Hope Project" in Kenya, under which, Chinese entrepreneurs donate 1 million U. S. dollars to the Kenyan government to help build 10 primary schools in Kenya.

Presently, three Chinese teachers are teaching the Chinese language in primary and secondary schools in Kisumu and other regions.

In 2005, China opened the Confucius Institute at the University of Nairobi, the first of its kind in Africa. It opened another one in 2008 at Kenyatta University and cumulatively the two institutes have over one thousand students and 17 classes.