According to the artist, the lady on the Lotus, which is center of attraction in his painting, brings to the fore a reflection of motherly effect and profound maturity. "Actually, when I was working, I had gone on location many times to go do the sketches. Every other person wanted to take a picture with her (the Lotus image) in the background and each time they did that, the distance was just so much and as an artist, I thought I could actually bring this woman very close here. I took my photos, I made my sketches from there and I said that I won't just bring her so close but there is a thing about the lady there who has been sculpted on Lotus," Sulaiman noted about his stay in Nanjing.

"Lotus is food, also edible at the place. So, all around her was everything that is beautiful. But for me, if you do a close up on her face, it is not just aligning that beauty (which is) standing that is sculpted. So every other person that comes, many people have taken pictures but I'm sure not too many have taken a look at what the artist was trying to render. That's why I decided to do an artist's art, trying to say an artist has sculpted it, I'm doing a painting of it but I'm giving a reflection that is totally different from what they have," he added.

While in China, he also painted a picture of the Zhongshanling miles, reflecting the beauty of the city. That aside, memories of his pleasant stay in China and the beautiful and historic places he visited have been replicated in his recent paintings.

For instance, he did a beautiful painting of the famous Forbidden City in the heart of Beijing, political capital of China. But the painting of the Forbidden City was done in a very unique way, with an awesome creation of the occupants from his mind, seizing the opportunity to describe China as a good ally of Nigeria.

"In the painting of Forbidden City, I actually did an extraction of putting Nigerians in the place. I had the traditional Eyo masquerade of the people of Lagos State inside. I had the Fulani maid inside and I had the Calabar dancers inside. So, for me, the Forbidden City had a lot of us (Nigerians) inside because China actually is like that doorway to the economies of Africa. And besides, looking at what we share culturally, it is also opening doors for commerce, so it was a deliberate attempt by me to promote the diplomatic relations that has existed between Nigeria and China for over 40 years," he enthused.

Sulaiman is currently working on another painting about China's reformist leader Mao Zedong, addressing fellow compatriots at the well-known Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The painting, which he has been working on for close to two months now, also has in it the image of Chinese philosopher Kong Qiu, also known as Confucius.

"When completed, this will be one of my best paintings," he said confidently.

The Nigerian artist said he would like to do a painting of rural China in the future, while ruing his inability to see some villages the last time he visited the East Asian country.

"I want to visit some parts of rural China to work in, especially because I know that the Tibetans are there, the Mongolians are also there. These are culturally diverse communities in China and for me going into mountains in the northern part of China, I know it is cold. So, painting the Chinese in the snow and seeing how much they want to do during the summer in Beijing means they will be covered up in the snow. So that would be another experience for me. But the rural China that I am looking at is the China that has its own people in their own farming capacity, in fishing and all other walks of life. I will be very much interested in that," he said.

According to Sulaiman, his homeward trip to Nigeria would have been incomplete, if he had not come back with enough books, from which he learnt that Chinese arts are very unique.