Shanghai, Shimen Road

In the summer of 1988, Xiaoli, a Shanghainese boy, has just turned 16. His life revolves around his one-room apartment, which he shares with his grandfather in a beautiful brick house in the picturesque Shikumen neighborhood of Da Zhongli. Xiaoli's father died in prison during the Cultural Revolution and his mother emigrated to the United States. Xiaolis interest lies in his blossoming next door neighbor, a girl of twenty named Lanmi. She flirts with him, arouses his senses, and yet has no interest in pursuing their relationship any further. In Lanmi's absence, Xiaoli turns to Lili who is more of his age, but at the same time he never looses interest in his deviant neighbor. The student demonstrations start monopolizing everyone's life in this spring of 1989.