Using another animal metaphor,Su says of his "pilgrimage" to the Southeast Asian country: "I was like an Asian elephant that strode from Guangxi to the jungles in Myanmar."That's where he immersed himself in and was inspired by the Buddhist culture in the country, which is the other side of the self-portrait of Su.

Then he came back to Guilin, and worked as a cultural and art researcher at a local university. But he has never ceased painting, taking full advantage of his "camel" and"elephant" experience, to contribute to exchanges between China and Sudan and China and Myanmar, as he believes that art is a common language of different cultures.

Su has held several solo exhibitions of his African art in Sudan and China since 2006, including the"Maburuk Sudan" (Cheers Sudan)serial exhibition, making him arguably the most influential Chinese painter in Sudan.

Some Africans in China spoke highly of the Maburuk Sudan exhibition, saying that it was fabulous to see an art exhibition on Africa in China, and Su's paintings made them feel homesick and immediately shortened the distance between Chinese and African people.

Su told the media: "I am dedicated to doing my little bit to help the Chinese people better understand Sudan and Africa, and vice versa."

Artists in Sudan praised Su for"drawing" a bridge of artistic exchange between China and Sudan, as the exhibitions of his paintings have served to deepen the mutual understanding of the Sudanese people and their Chinese counterparts, and promoted the people-to-people exchanges and friendship between the two countries.