Songbird Flies Over the World

San mao (3 hairs) was a very popular Chinese comic strip first published in 1935-37, continued from 1948 into the 1990s, about a young orphan boy struggling with life in Shanghai.

The film depicts Confucius's later life, as he traveled across a China divided by war and strife in an ultimately futile effort to teach various warlords and kings his particular philosophy.

1930s, Jiangxi Soviet Area. Jiang Mengzi bids farewell to his newlywed wife Xiang Wu'er and joins the main force of the Red Army on the Long March. Xiao Zhenkui, the leader of the "Communist Removal Group", took the opportunity to return to the countryside to launch a white terror. Mengzi's father, chairman of the Township Soviet, and his sister were killed at the same time. The pregnant Wu'er gave birth to a child on the way to escape. Wu'er is found out hiding and forced to work as a wet nurse. Will Mengzi return in time to save his family?

The government sends caravans to Miao villages periodically to provide goods which facilitate the folks. A detachment protects the caravans from robbery.

About the Chinese communists who fought boldly and selflessly against the Kuomintang.

A restaurant in Suzhou learns how to incite employees to provide best service to customers.

An episode from the life of a metallurgical plant collective. Lu Zhong-kui, an advanced worker appointed as head of the smelting shop, initiates the re-equipment of the open-hearth furnace. The plant director and some specialists warn him that the furnace, built by Americans, is operating at maximum capacity. However, many refer to the experience of the Soviet people and support Lu. And then an accident occurs: steel bursts out of the furnace... This episode is full of drama, as is the entire story about the selfless and persistent struggle of a worker-promoter to fulfill the state plan.

Three independent storylines about the completion of the Xin'anjiang Power Station. Adapted from Fu Geng's original work.

Flower Street is a place where people from the jungle live, and the street is a place where people from the marketplace gather. Zhaogou and his wife, Bai Lanhua, make a living as singers in the House of Delight and have a daughter, Daping. Daping enrolls in school, and her best friend Lian Bao is also helped by Zhaogou to learn the art, and later moves on to work as an apprentice in a factory. During the war, Zhaoxu's family fled, but his grandmother insisted on staying behind. Zhaogou is separated from his wife and daughter on the road; Daping wanders around with his mother and sells songs, and after a few twists and turns, he and his mother are able to return to Flower Street.

As China falls into hyperinflation following the end of the war, people fought tooth and nail to get their hands on the only reliable currencies in the world: gold and American dollars. This is a story that shows how seven bars and two thousand US dollars bring together an interesting mix of characters: an opportunistic manager, a materialistic courtesan, a con artist posing as a commissioner of the Treasury, a white-collar worker who will do anything for a promotion, a man who specialises in conning women, a father who marries off his daughter for money and a sorcerer who fakes his magic. In this dog-eat-dog world, the only truth is that everyone is lying for his own gain. Playing the courtesan who longs to be part of high society, Li Lihua steals the film with a feisty performance opposite the amusing Yan Jun, whose con artist character has a tendency to flirt with lyrics from Peking operas.

A Chinese drama

In 1947, the Chinese Red Army sets a trap for the Nationalist forces in Jiangsu province.

A wedding musician fails to wed his own love: Little Trumpet is raring to marry his childhood sweetheart, but a series of setbacks has prevented them from getting their way. Criticism against social formalities becomes all the more forceful with the clever use of contrast and irony, not to mention the realist and comedic touch a la Zhu Shilin. Of special mention is the famous teahouse scene where dynamic, melodic camerawork creates a hilarity that continues to amaze to this day. A genuine masterpiece with every single detail, down to the minor props, forming an integral part of a whole. Today, young couples are struggling nonetheless to get a roof over their heads, a testimony to the fact that poverty still reigns beneath the facade of harmony and stability after all these years.

Based on 'The Insulted and the Injured' by Fyodor Dostoevsky.