Why rap is cool in China's official circles

The Communist Youth League, which is an affiliate of the Communist Party of China, recently posted a video titled This Is China on the Twitter-like Weibo platform. The video shows members of Tianfu Shibian, a band from Chengdu city in Southwest China's Sichuan province, rapping about the "Chi phenomenon".

With their faces painted in the form of Chinese opera masks, the rappers sing: "The red dragon ain't no evil, but a peaceful place."

The video, which analysts said is aimed mainly at young and overseas Chinese, is yet another example of the rising influence of rap in China's official circles.