Su first became known for his stone prints, or lithographs - a process which can take up to a month depending on the complexity of the picture.

Su said, "The closer we are, the more we should become independent, because in the early stages of forming a style, influence is terrible."

Though Su's first love is his printmaking, he says he found it very easy to cross over to oil paintings because the basic principles were the same.

Much of his work depicts the struggles of life in Inner Mongolia.

Su said, "After I came to Beijing, I thought this cosmopolitan city was very strange. So what influenced me most was my life from my childhood and the time I spent in the grasslands. I could express my strongest emotions in the paintings of the grasslands."

And though Su has since added oil painting to his repertoire, Wallace says it is still the printmaking that provides Su Xinping with the greatest challenge.

(CCTV April 10,2008)