This week has not been good for China’s image abroad, with the protests surrounding the Olympic torch relay in Europe and the US. But the country did bring home one prize. At the recent Radio 3 Awards for World Music, the best musician in the Asia/Pacific category was Sa Dingding. The Chinese singer fended off competition from artists better known in the west, including the Tuvan throat singers Huun-Huur-Tu and sitar player Anoushka Shankar.

Dingding, 25, found music at an early age. From three to six, she lived with her grandmother in the grasslands of Mongolia. “We raised sheep, and we would sing to the ewes to help them feed their lambs. Singing is daily life, there – you can accomplish anything by singing.”