In 1993 Yan Pei Ming was granted "Grand Prix du Roman", an award given by the French government and winners of it include such prestigious figures in art history as Poussin, David, Ingres, Debussy and Berlioz, among others. Yan Pei Ming is the third Chinese, along with Zao Wou-ki and Chen Zhen, to have his works collected and exhibited in the George Pompidou Center; he has held also a solo exhibition in Paris and posters of his works were seen every where in the city during the exhibition time. As the international curator Hou Hanru said: " Ming is a real big shot", "A man is no longer a good artist when he looked especially like an artist". The fame-winning Yan Pei Ming did not go back to show off in the restaurant which poured insults onto him since his mild nature made him never dwell on the unhappy past for long on the one hand, and on the other hand he thought there was still a long way to go for his goal. "My ultimate goal is to become a global inluential artist recognized by the whole world", as he talked about his ambition.

What got him access to the international art circle was his "Mao Zedong series". The series started in 1987 and in 1991 for his irst exhibition Yan Pei Ming named it: "My Story Begins with His History". In the eyes of Yan Pei Ming, one suffering through the tail end of the Cultural Revolution, Mao Zedong is not only an image but more than that a part of the history of China. A painter has no history of himself and no one knows who he is, however, with the great household name Mao Zedong, Yan Pei Ming found his self. The importance of theme for an art beginner can by no means be denied, but theme can unnecessarily constitute the whole core of his works. The works of Yan Pei Ming carries the distinctive characteristics of his own. The large dimension and monotones of his pictures-what he pursues is to obtain the maximum effect with the fewest and simplest materials-once the works stand in the exhibition hall, they take on an aggressive air immediately and are powerful enough to draw all the attention on themselves. The paintings of Yan Pei Ming always bear the expression of strength. The two huge images Li Xiaolong by Yan Pei Ming were once hung in Dijon Rail Station in France and became a unique cultural sight of the locality for some time.

It is believed whoever with the chance of seeing the painter working will be deeply impressed. Compared to his theme and painting dimension, Yan Pei Ming makes the painting process a more performance art waving his long brush towards the cloth and getting dabs of paint splattering. This performance art, different from that of the American abstract painter Jackson Pollock who aims at painting freedom by splashing and spattering paints, Yan Pei Ming stresses more on the possibility of commanding the whole painting process and the ultimately realized expression.

Yan Pei Ming never drafts and even with super huge pieces he completes them in one breath with the last touch to polish. The earlier work "Mao Zedong" in 1992 is the very representative of his most characteristic works. The painting was completed at an amazingly fast speed as usual and when the authoritative image was created, it was decomposed at the same time. It impresses the viewers as a kind of idol worship yet it is, in its fundamental nature, a kind of attack against the idol by makting the image deformed. Yan Pei Ming has painted Mao Zedong, Bruce Lee and his father, friends and himself, but the oblivious small potatoes are always the heroes in his works which mostly focus on the facial expressions. In this well-known portrait series, Mao Zedong is the most basic and important theme, especially the one named "Vermillion Red Mao Zedong" which displays the strong theme with the spotlight lying in the double-structure. One is a portrait and the other is the Yan Pei Ming-style monotone which further exhibits the mapped background and spiritual language of Mao.

The works of Yan Pei Ming betray a strong desire of conquer. He works over 10 hours every day just like an ever-running machine. He knows quite well what on earth he wants. "Chinese artists can always live on their own fat and one painting might feed one all his life, but in the West the more successful an artist is, the harder he works.", he said.