Hip-hop star blazes fresh trail

In the summer, when rapper Vinida made her debut on Sing! China, a popular variety show aired by Zhejiang Satellite TV, the 22-year-old became a star among the country's emerging singers.

Wearing tight jeans, a tank top and high heels, Vinida, whose real name is Weng Ying, is a rare sight on China's music scene mainly because she is a female rapper.

Based in Fuzhou, East China's Fujian province, she has adapted songs such as Taiwan pop icon Jay Chou's Cowboy On the Run and Give Me a Kiss, a song from 1940s Shanghai.