A seven-week exhibition tour by China\'s Bible ministry that ended in the southern U.S. city of Charlotte last week helped deepen the friendship between Chinese and U.S. churches and promote mutual understanding between the two peoples, organizers said Thursday. The Bible Ministry Exhibition of the Protestant Church in China, which opened on Sept. 28 in Washington and was also held in Chicago and Dallas, drew more than 20,000 local visitors. Attending the exhibition, entitled \"The Word is the Truth,\" international Christian leaders, Chinese and U.S. church leaders and government officials said it would further expand platforms for religious exchanges between the two countries. The exhibition would also advance exchanges between Eastern and Western civilizations, they said. Through the Bible\'s various Chinese versions, ancient or modern, as well as pictures, paintings, calligraphy, art works and historical documents, the exhibition aimed to provide an overall picture of how the Bible was brought into China, and how it was translated, published and distributed since the country adopted the reform and opening-up policy more than three decades ago. Visitors said the exhibition showed not only the development of Christianity in China and the truth about the country\'s policy on freedom of religious belief, but also the unique attractiveness of China\'s religious culture. The exhibition was jointly sponsored by the China Christian Council and the National Committee of Three-Self Patriotic Movement of the Protestant Churches in China.