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China's first film was made in 1905 when great changes were taking place in Chinese society. Films, as vivid records of the times, have, since then, recorded all the happenings of China in the century: From national liberation movements and social changes to the fate and daily life of ordinary people. Films enrich people's lives and inspire their spirit. To mark the 100th Anniversary of the Chinese Film industry, this documentary has chosen and highlighted the events and figures of milestone significance in "Chinese films and films of China" to probe how Chinese films have developed from entertainment to enlightenment through education and from propaganda to the market, and to show a centennial splendor and glory to the Chinese film industry

2006 Project by Zhang Peili

2007 project by Zhang Peili

In 2005, screenwriter Cheng Qingsong publicly disclosed his homosexuality in a blog post, revealing his relationship with Sun, a man imprisoned in Sichuan for theft. Despite Sun's incarceration, Cheng supported him, sending necessities and visiting whenever possible, driven by instinct rather than expecting a reunion. After three years, Sun was released in 2008, and Cheng greeted him with traditional customs, including firecrackers and new clothes. However, Sun's family, particularly his mother, disapproved of their relationship, leading to conflicts between the couple. The 2009 film The Blue Sun portrays their love story, reflecting the struggles of same-sex couples in China and highlighting the challenges faced by the homosexual rights movement. The film blends personal hardship with social commentary on growing visibility and acceptance of LGBTQ+ people in mainland China.

Mr. Jiang is a Shanghai dandy, living by himself in a house that stood the test of time since the 1930s as a witness to what happened to the city. Now, the house is about to be torn down as part of a redevelopment plan. A woman becomes a tenant and fiercely pursues the taciturn man, until he opens his mouth unraveling his unique philosophy and personal history. Combined with the verbal sparring between the two and the scenes around the house, the sadness that oozes from Mr. Jiang's life at the mercy of Chinese history-Shanghai during the war, the fury of the Cultural Revolution, and now the present-casts a subtle shadow over the film.

A documentary looking at an attempt to build a new church building in Yiminhe, a small town located in Ewenki Autonomous Banner, Inner Mongolia. Director Bai Xiuying is the person-in-charge of the local church, where only one of the five congregations worships in legal surroundings. As a result of the insufficient facilities, Director Bai has to rush to services in various places. She decides to build a big church that can accommodate all the congregations, and, after two years of effort, the project is approved. The documentary traces the construction during a period beset with insufficient funding. When the project is complete, the contractor refuses to hand over the church to the Christians until he is paid what he is due, and Director Bai finds herself trapped in enormous debts. Depressed but still faithful, Director Bai works hard to continue to raise money, while the congregations continue to use their original venues for gatherings.

Mei Mei is a transvestite male actor who is eager to find his true love. He searches among gays and transvestites. In 2004 he finally meets a man of his match who also accepts Mei Mei as he is. They have a public wedding ceremony. Mei Mei is very confident about his marriage and his future. His friends throw a farewell party for him before he leaves for Shanghai where he and his love are to embark on a life together. However, things are not as perfect as planned, and his marriage proves harder than expected. Finally Mei Mei comes back to Beijing. He feels embarrassed when running into old friends. Also, he runs into financial problems worse than ever before.

Tang Tang is a personal story of sexual role reversal in modern-day Bejing: Tang Tang is a normal man during the day, but at night switches his persona and becomes a woman. His transformation is so complete that he is able to perform on stage and make a living in bars all over Beijing. Though his lifestyle is far from the norms of Chinese society, he feels no disgrace or dishonor. Tang Tang is is not just about gay and lesbian relationship but, more importantly, about the constant reversals in life: to live or to die, to be male or female and, to love or to hate. We often think that reality is fixed, but tomorrow brings reversal. What you consider as reality is just the outer appearance.

An elderly woman decides when to reveal her decision about the inheritance after her passing.

The film chronicles the journey of a middle-aged man who is bored with his humdrum life, goes out to start his own business, and makes his way in the world. But he returns to the original life in the end.

On the 29th lunar New Year's Eve of the twelfth lunar month of a certain year, it was getting late in Guangzhou. A trance-looking boy drove through the urban jungle, wandering alone on the streets, waiting to meet his girlfriend a few years ago, expecting a result to happen. In an old town, a middle-aged woman brought a girl along the street to beg for food. At the gate of a certain community, they encountered a middle-aged man who was driving around after drinking and eating. The man invited them to have a barbecue at a roadside stall and made a suggestion. In a hospital, two security guards were bored at the gate. After work, I decided to go to a certain village in a city and village to win money after work. Unexpectedly, the night was getting thicker and the flow of people was surging. The Spring Festival Gala is going on grandly, and the air is full of noise and anxiety, three realities Event, tearing apart the absurd reality of the crazy city•••

In 1972, Xu Xing wrote the first love letter of his life and sent it to a girl in school, whose parents had been sent to the countryside. Not knowing, what to do with it, she showed the anonymous letter to her teacher. Xu Xing was identified as author through his handwriting, and was detained…In this autobiographical piece, Xu Xing tells the story of his own experiences of the Cultural Revolution by tracing his personal encounters of the past in contemporary China.

Four years ago, 110 artists in Beijing shared their dreams of youth; at that time, they were all drifting toward the border of freedom, in their own way. Seeing them again now, have they changed? Have their lives and dreams changed? Even in the face of changes, they will always be witnesses to their own lives and times.

The director set a static, hidden camera in a small consulting room and persistently followed visits of a hundred of patients who, in the course of 2008, came to consult.

For centuries, Tibetan nomads were the only inhabitants on the banks of the sacred Lake Kokonor—the Blue Lake—in Amdo (eastern Tibet). Starting in the 1990s, the area saw a dramatic rise in domestic tourism: It was not just the lake’s beauty that drew tourists but the Tibetan culture in general. This influx of tourists came at a cost: the locals now find themselves having to adapt to new roles in the tourism industry. This glimpse at the Kokonor community examines the transformation of the lives of the Tibetans who live there.

Young students in Hebei province preparing to enter middle and high school are sent to a miltary training camp.

Civil rights activist Hu Jia was held under house arrest from 2004 to 2008 in the upscale eastern suburbs of Beijing. One day Hu picked up a video camera and began to document things outside the window: his watchers, shepherds tending their flocks, spiders in the rain, and his fellow activist and wife, Zeng Jinyan, going to and from work under the unnervingly close watch of plainclothes police.

Herdsmen is an anthropological documentary that portrays the life of a Kazakh herding family in Burqin County, located in the Altay region of Xinjiang. Directed by Chen Jianjun and shot by Li Xiong, the film was co-produced by China Central Television (CCTV) and Xinjiang Grandscape Telecom and shot on 35mm. It has been permanently archived by the Museum of the Moving Image in the United States and awarded Special Commendation at the International Festival of Visual Anthropology; won Grand Prize at the Blackmaria International Film Festival, the Moondance International Film Festival, and the FICA International Environmental Film Festival; and won the Golden Olive Award at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival.

Propaganda documentary on the Northeast Area Revitalization Plan.

Border forest police officer Ali and his teammate Li Derui are on a routine patrol in the mountainous border region. At the same time, university professor Li Rui and her student Qiao'er, who are there to study the distribution of wildlife, get lost in the forest and send out a distress signal. By a twist of fate, they fall into the hands of a group of poachers; just as a Tibetan brown bear relentlessly pursues them, turning the situation increasingly perilous.

This film follows the Hani Nationality's deteriorating traditional way of life. As their terrace fields can no longer support them, Alu and many of his fellow villagers must leave home in search of a better livelihood elsewhere. They are trapped into working in a coal mine, and after many months of servitude can do nothing but flee to Kunming to try their luck. But Kunming has little to offer these uneducated and unskilled youth from the countryside. So what is left for them to do?

Documentary on five old ladies living in the same nursing home.

Story of the steam train and a little gril in the hills of Sichuan province.

Gong Fenghai, an educated urban youth from Beijing and also a fervent supporter of Mao Zedong decided to heed Chairman Mao's call to go to the rural area of Yanan during the Cultural Revolution. Forty years later, 60 year-old Gong wants to return to Beijing and retire there. What greets him is a hometown that is at once familiar and yet strangely distant....

This is a documentary about children living around the Great Wall.