# Visual China Group — Wrapped API

> **You are on:** `https://api.paywithlocus.com/api` | [llms.txt](https://paywithlocus.com/llms.txt) | [docs](https://docs.paywithlocus.com)
>
> Locus runs on multiple environments -- make sure every URL you call matches your expected environment.
> | Environment | Landing | API | Docs |
> |---|---|---|---|
> | Production | paywithlocus.com | api.paywithlocus.com | docs.paywithlocus.com |
> | Beta | beta.paywithlocus.com | api.beta.paywithlocus.com | docs.paywithlocus.com |
> | Stage | stage.paywithlocus.com | api.stage.paywithlocus.com | docs.paywithlocus.com |
>
> If the API URL above doesn't match your expected environment, re-fetch this file from the correct domain.

> Search and discover millions of stock images from Visual China Group's vast media library, view trending content and popular search terms, and find visually similar images to match your creative needs. Access detailed image metadata, thumbnails, and brand information to power your content curation, design projects, or visual research workflows.

**Category:** Other | **Website:** [vcg.com/](https://vcg.com/) | **Docs:** [parse.bot/marketplace/cd65e8d0-95e6-4339-8d19-549168885499/vcg-com-api](https://parse.bot/marketplace/cd65e8d0-95e6-4339-8d19-549168885499/vcg-com-api)

Pay-per-use API proxy for Locus Pro. Each call burns credits from your workspace balance.

## Access

**Base URL:** `https://api.paywithlocus.com/api/wrapped/credits/visual-china-group/`
**Auth:** `Authorization: Bearer <LOCUS_CREDITS_SECRET_KEY>` (an `lcr_` secret key or a scoped `lcac_` agent credential)
**Required header:** `Idempotency-Key: <fresh UUID per call>`. A retry with the same key replays the stored result without a new charge.
**Response:** the provider response after any endpoint-specific normalization. `X-Locus-Credits-Charged` carries the charge and `X-Locus-Credits-Balance` the remaining balance. Insufficient credits return `402` before the provider is called.
**Pricing:** estimated costs below are USD. Locus debits the credit equivalent at your workspace rate.

Full call contract: https://docs.paywithlocus.com/api-reference/introduction

> Using a Pay With Locus wallet key (`claw_` prefix)? Wallet routes are documented separately: https://docs.paywithlocus.com/wrapped-apis/for-agents

## Endpoints

### Get brands

Retrieve a list of brand collections available on VCG. Returns brand names, IDs, license types, and pinyin initials. No parameters required.

**Estimated cost:** Metered

_No parameters required._

```bash
curl -X POST https://api.paywithlocus.com/api/wrapped/credits/visual-china-group/get-brands \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $LOCUS_CREDITS_SECRET_KEY" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: $(uuidgen)" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{}'
```

### Get hot rank

Retrieve trending/hot search rankings from VCG's creative insight API. Returns ranked search phrases with search counts for a given time range (7 or 30 days). Each rank item includes the phrase, search count, rank number, and type indicator.

**Estimated cost:** Metered

| Field | Type | Required | Description |
|-------|------|----------|-------------|
| `date` | string | No | Time range in days: '7' or '30'. |
| `type` | string | No | Content type: '1' for images, '2' for videos. |

```bash
curl -X POST https://api.paywithlocus.com/api/wrapped/credits/visual-china-group/get-hot-rank \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $LOCUS_CREDITS_SECRET_KEY" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: $(uuidgen)" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"date":"<string>","type":"<string>"}'
```

### Get hot words

Fetch popular search keywords recommended by VCG. Returns keyword strings with navigation links. Useful for discovering trending search terms to use with search_images.

**Estimated cost:** Metered

| Field | Type | Required | Description |
|-------|------|----------|-------------|
| `limit` | integer | No | Max number of hot words to return. |

```bash
curl -X POST https://api.paywithlocus.com/api/wrapped/credits/visual-china-group/get-hot-words \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $LOCUS_CREDITS_SECRET_KEY" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: $(uuidgen)" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"limit":"<integer>"}'
```

### Get image detail

Get detailed metadata for a specific image by its numeric ID. Returns title, keywords, dimensions, license type, copyright info, contributor, and the full raw metadata object. The preview_url field provides an 800px watermarked preview.

**Estimated cost:** Metered

| Field | Type | Required | Description |
|-------|------|----------|-------------|
| `image_id` | string | Yes | Numeric image ID (e.g. 1574063571). |

```bash
curl -X POST https://api.paywithlocus.com/api/wrapped/credits/visual-china-group/get-image-detail \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $LOCUS_CREDITS_SECRET_KEY" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: $(uuidgen)" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"image_id":"<string>"}'
```

### Get image thumbnail url

Extract the watermarked preview image URL for a given image ID. Returns only the 800px CDN URL. A lighter-weight alternative to get_image_detail when only the preview URL is needed.

**Estimated cost:** Metered

| Field | Type | Required | Description |
|-------|------|----------|-------------|
| `image_id` | string | Yes | Numeric image ID (e.g. 1574063571). |

```bash
curl -X POST https://api.paywithlocus.com/api/wrapped/credits/visual-china-group/get-image-thumbnail-url \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $LOCUS_CREDITS_SECRET_KEY" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: $(uuidgen)" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"image_id":"<string>"}'
```

### Get similar images

Get visually similar images for a given image ID. Returns a list of similar images with metadata including title, dimensions, resource ID, and thumbnail URL. Useful for finding alternative images after identifying one of interest.

**Estimated cost:** Metered

| Field | Type | Required | Description |
|-------|------|----------|-------------|
| `similar_id` | string | Yes | Image ID to find similar images for (e.g. 1574063571). |

```bash
curl -X POST https://api.paywithlocus.com/api/wrapped/credits/visual-china-group/get-similar-images \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $LOCUS_CREDITS_SECRET_KEY" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: $(uuidgen)" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"similar_id":"<string>"}'
```

### Search images

Search for creative images by keyword. Returns up to 50 results per page from VCG's stock image library. Pagination via page number. Each result includes basic metadata: ID, title, thumbnail URL, dimensions, and license type. Use get_image_detail for full metadata on a specific image.

**Estimated cost:** Metered

| Field | Type | Required | Description |
|-------|------|----------|-------------|
| `keyword` | string | Yes | Search keyword (Chinese or English). |
| `page` | integer | No | Page number for pagination (1-based). |

```bash
curl -X POST https://api.paywithlocus.com/api/wrapped/credits/visual-china-group/search-images \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $LOCUS_CREDITS_SECRET_KEY" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: $(uuidgen)" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"keyword":"<string>","page":"<integer>"}'
```

## Next steps

- [All wrapped API providers](https://paywithlocus.com/wapi/index.md): pick another provider.
- [Find and call tools](https://paywithlocus.com/agent/tools.md): price ceilings, async results, and errors.
- [Credits and billing](https://paywithlocus.com/agent/billing.md): what a call costs and how to add credits.
- [Agent docs index](https://paywithlocus.com/agent/index.md): every Locus agent page.