You wouldn't normally associate Mandopop singer-songwriter types with sexiness.

Somehow, it is difficult to imagine a sensitive soul - best known for tinkling the ivories - to be publicly flaunting her svelte figure in skimpy beachwear.

Well, Harbin-born, Vancouver-based singer-songwriter Qu Wanting did just that.

And the 30-year-old Mandopop rising star hopes to break the rigid perception most people have of songwriters like her.

Last month, she raised eyebrows by posting a couple of pictures of herself in a hot pink bikini, strolling around the Malaysian island of Langkawi, on her Facebook page.

Most comments were positive, including praises like "so pretty" and "so fit", save for one which suggested that her flat stomach was "photoshopped".

To date, the two posts have garnered more than 2,000 likes.

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(Photos: Qu Wanting's Instagram, ST, TNP, Universal Music, Twitter)