Shanghai's past and present flow together in Jia Zhangke's poetic and poignant portrait of this fast-changing port city. Restoring censored images and filling in forgotten facts, Jia provides an alternative version of 20th century China's fraught history as reflected through life in the Yangtze city. He builds his narrative through a series of eighteen interviews with people from all walks of life -- politicians' children, veterans, criminals, and artists -- while returning regularly to the image of his favorite actress, Zhao Tao, wandering through the Shanghai World Expo Park.
