Shanghai Dreams (Qing Hong) 2006

In the late 60s, when China feared attack by the USSR, armament factories and other "front line" industries were relocated from cities on the eastern seaboard to remote inland areas, and idealistic young adults were persuaded to resettle in dirt-towns like Guiyang to staff them. Less than 15 years later, many were desperate to move back to the urban sophistication of such cities as Shanghai, disillusioned by life in the sticks and eager to taste the new freedoms of the '80s. The Wu family is a case in point. Zemin has never forgiven his wife for moving them to Guiyang, and he's determined that their two children should put down no local roots. This means, among other things, sabotaging his 19-year-old daughter Qinghong's burgeoning romance with local factory worker Honggen. But, Qinghong was born in Guiyang and knows no other home. Talk of Shanghai makes her nervous and her father's intransigence brings out a sullen, rebellious streak.