SUMMARY: A group of young men and women work in a Beijing theme park featuring reproductions of famous sights from all over the world. They struggle with their relationships with each other, as well as with the gap between their superficially cosmopolitan surroundings and their own lack of understanding of the world around them.


SCENE-BY-SCENE (contains spoilers): The film opens with woman in elaborate costume (Tao) walking down a hall, going in and out of dressing rooms, asking if anyone has a band-aid. This is filmed in an unsteady tracking shot, beginning with a frontal view of the woman. The hall is dimly lit with fluorescent lights, utilitarian, with grim gray-green-painted walls. The individual dressing rooms are lit by smaller lamps, and are crowded and hectic. Another woman has trouble zipping up her dress. Most of the people leave; we stay with Tao briefly, and see her put the band-aid on.

Cut to a theatre, with a large audience; on stage are dancers in costumes, including Tao. The style or theme of this performance looks Thai, or at least southeast Asian.

Next we see Tao on the park's monorail, still in costume; she gets a call on her mobile, and asks if Erxiao bought food. A voice over a loudspeaker welcomes visitors to World Park. In the grounds below, we see workers carrying water jugs past a replica of the pyramids and the sphinx; a shot of the skyline includes the Eiffel Tower. The title sceeen for the film appears, and across it an old fisherman walks in the foreground in front of this skyline.

In the park, in a replica of the Taj Mahal and its grounds, Tao talks with a security guard (Taisheng) about a fight he had with his brother.

Later, Back to the dressing room, Tao changes from one costume to another. Another performer's (Wei) boyfriend arrives, and chides her for not keeping her cell phone on. A group of new workers from Russia arrives and are introduced to Tao and the other performers. A man (Liangzi) arrives to meet Tao, while a park official of some kind takes the Russians' passports to keep because "it's safer" and they might get stolen.

Cut to Taisheng and his brother, Erxiao (also a park security guard) having lunch on the deck of the Eiffel Tower. Taisheng, rides the elevator up to the top with a woman whom he calls Fei; from the top he asks about the whereabouts of Tao on his walkie-talkie.

Tao eats lunch with Liangzi, the man who came to her dressing room; we learn that he is an ex-boyfriend (she tells him that breaking up with her has been good for him). He has a large backpack, and is carrying his passport. Taisheng arrives and Tao introduces the two; we learn that Liangzi is going to Mongolia. Taisheng offers, perhaps a bit too readily, to drive him to the train station. Cut to the three of them driving; Taisheng drives, with Tao beside him; Liangzi rides in back. In the train station, Tao and Taisheng drop Liangzi off; Taisheng offers to buy him food or a drink; Tao goes, but Liangzi leaves before she gets back.

In a run-down hotel or apartment building; in one room, Taisheng is lying in a bed with Tao sitting next to him. We learn that he followed her to Beijing. He tells her she needs to "enjoy her life"; then he tells her to lay down, and they kiss. Taisheng tells Tao that his "heart just dropped" when he saw Liangzi, and asks for assurance that their relationship is over, which she gives. He asks her to "prove that she loves him," starts unbuttoning her shirt, etc. She pushes him off, and he accuses her of not really being his girlfriend, of being to old to "play the virgin," etc. She calls him a bastard and leaves.

Tao rides a bus home. Her phone goes off; there is a brief animated sequence, in which the message is revealed to be from Taisheng, asking "how far can you go?"

Brief shot of another dance number, again with elaborate costumes, including large headdresses.

Over a shot of the park, text appears on the screen, reading "Paris in Beijing Suburbs."

Taisheng finds Tao at the park, asks if she is still angry; she pretty clearly is. She tells him not to talk to her like that; he does not apologize, exactly, but tells her not to be angry and pulls her away. They meet another employee, who films them on a "magic carpet ride" in front of a green screen.

Cut to exterior shot of large building at night. Inside is a large group of people, Russians and Chinese, trying to talk to each other, learn names, etc. Neither group speaks any of the other's language; many of the people have been drinking.

Text on screen again appears, reading "Ulan Bator Night."

Daytime; a park patrolman rides a horse through stone pillars of some kind. The camera passes by a group of people taking forced perspective shots with the tower of Pisa. Taisheng, off duty, is showing another man around; he shows his visitor the Manhattan skyline, Notre Dame, Big Ben etc. The visitor, Sanlai, is childhood friend, visiting from home. Their conversation suggests that there is some tension over Taisheng having brought Erxiao to Beijing, and not visiting home more often. The scene cuts to Taisheng seeing his visitors off on the bus.

Cut to inside of a plane, a passenger jet, which is an exhibit in the park. Taisheng is inside with Tao, now dressed as a stewardess; they are kissing and petting. Taisheng again accuses her of not loving him when she will not let him touch her more intimately. She asks him to "take her away" because being stuck in this place will "turn her into a ghost." In another animated interstitial, a woman in a stewardess uniform flies over a city.

Taisheng and Tao visit the home of someone named Song, somewhere out of the city.

Back in the employee quarters, Tao and a Russian woman (Anna) are washing their clothes in the sinks, and trying to communicate. Anna shows Tao pictures of her family back home.

Tao is again riding the monorail; again, she is on the phone, asking if Erxiao bought food.

Taisheng returns to Song's place again; while there, he is introduced to a woman (Liao Qun) who needs to go to Taiyuan to bring money to her brother. Taisheng and Liao Qun end up riding together on the bus; on the way back, they fall asleep leaning on one another.

Back at the park, in the dressing rooms, Tao and Anna continue to get to know one another, still without really being able to talk. They have dinner together; Anna tells Tao she is leaving, because she has another job, though Tao cannot understand her when she says this. Tao responds by telling her not to look so worried, because Christmas is coming and there will be fireworks; suggests she knows Anna is leaving, because she offers to take photos. Anna says that sister took a job in Ulan Bator, and that she has not seen her since; she is trying to save money to visit her. She sings a song to Tao about Ulan Bator.

Anna and Tao ride in a rickshaw though town at night. Tao stares ahead, Anna mostly seems to be looking at Tao (though she could be watching the skyline). They do not speak.

Cut to a shot of Taisheng leading a horse through the park at night. An animated sequence depicts Taisheng riding on the horse, hearts flying from his mouth, as he receives a text, presumably from Liao Qun, asking him to "drop by when he can."

Taisheng goes to visit Liao Qun; she works in what seems to be a fashion studio. When Taisheng arrives, Liao Qun is upstairs, teaching another woman to dance; Taisheng begins to dance with her, then, when the others are gone, tries to make out with her. They sit on the couch, holding hands, and talk about her work in fashion; he continues to make advances. She shows him a picture of her husband, who has gone to France on a boat where most of the passengers died; he now lives in Belleville.

A brief interstitial shot of streets at night from a vehicle.

Back at the park, Taisheng and Tao are together; she sits on his lap and does some back stretches; things seem to be progressing until Wei comes in, interrupting them. Her boyfriend is (again) asking where she has been and why her phone was off.

Cut to Tao walking through the park in the rain, covering herself with a poncho or plastic sheet. An animated sequence shows her running through the streets in the rain; she gets a text from someone named Qiu Ping, saying there is a party tonight and "let's try to be happy."

At the party, at a restaurant, Tao is there with several other people; a man named Zhang introduces himself to her. Another man suggests to the group that they "have fun and drink as much as they want." They sing karaoke. Tao gets a phone call and has to go outside to hear. It turns out to be Zhang, calling from just outside; once she is outside with him, he asks her to go for a ride, saying he would "like to be alone with her"; he then invites her to a jewelry fair that he is "sponsoring" in Hong Kong the next weekend. He mentions that it is "easy to get a passport," which Tao does not have. He suggests that she could buy jewelry, perfume, "things a woman needs," and tells her, "with a bit of styling you'd be a knockout." Zhang then asks her to leave the job and come with him, saying that he has the feeling he has met her before, "in my dreams." Finally she puts him off and walks away.

In the bathroom at the performers' quarters, Tao is with two other women; one of them is throwing up in the sink. A fourth woman enters and gives the vomiter some money; the latter asks if "they" have left. The other woman turns out to be Anna; she implies that she is working as a prostitute or something similar (though they still cannot understand each other; she asks Tao why Tao is looking at her "like that," then says :you already know."). Both begin to cry; Anna leaves, and we stay with Tao in the bathroom, crying.

Daytime, in the city: a crowd of men walks along the side of a road, all wearing helmets. In the background a huge housing development is visible, consisting of multiple, virtually identical high-rise buildings. Someone calls to one of the workers; this turns out to be Taisheng, and one of the men leaves the group to talk to him. This is Sanlai, the man Taisheng was showing around the park earlier. Tao is there with Taisheng; he introduces her to Sanlai. Taisheng notes that Sanlai is not speaking their local dialect anymore; Sanlai says that they must all speak in Mandarin because the workers are from all over.

Tao walks around the construction site. It is a strange place, with a large concrete field full of some kind of pillars, maybe lights. It is late in the afternoon, and the sun is low in the sky. While there, Tao runs into someone she calls "little sister," riding through on a bicycle. He seems also to be a friend of Taisheng from home. She asks him why he is called Little Sister, and he explains it is because he has an older brother and his mother wanted a girl. A plane flies by overhead; Little Sister asks Tao "who flies on those planes," and she says "Beats me. I don't know anyone who's ever been on a plane."

Cut to the interior of a plane (though not the same one, probably, as it is night through the plane's windows). We see Anna sitting in one of the seats, reading. She goes to sleep.

The next scene begins in the hallway of a hotel, with a maid walking down the hall, her back to us, pushing a housekeeping cart. In one of the rooms, Taisheng and Tao are in bed together. She tells him "you must never cheat on me." He declares this to be "impossible (though of course he has already tried). She tells him if he ever does, she will kill him; he makes light of this. She tells him "You are my whole life. If you're unfaithful, I'm left with nothing." In turn he tells her she should not have that much faith in anyone, that "You can't count on anyone these days." She walks out of the room.

Cut to Tao riding the elevator in the Eiffel Tower in the park; recorded narration says that the park hopes the panoramic view will "heighten your knowledge of the world." Tao is eating lunch in the tower with Taisheng and Erxiao. Fei arrives and asks Erxiao for something.

Back in the dressing room area, Wei is walking through when her boyfriend pulls her aside and asks where she's been; when she refuses to answer he pulls her into a side hallway and demands again. (He is dressed in a Renaissance costume). She still refuses to answer.

On the big stage, another big dance number. Meanwhile, Erxiao is wandering through the dressing room area, going through purses and taking the money he finds.

Again in the dressing room Wei's boyfriend continues to ask her where she has been; she tells him they should break up if he cannot trust her. He asks the other women to leave the room, and inexplicably they do so. Wei reveals that she went out with her ex-boyfriend and "we talked," but "nothing else." He does not believe her. She tells him she is breaking up with him and turns away. He sets his jacket on fire with a cigarette lighter. She tries to put it out by beating at it while he sits, impassively.

Cut to Tao on the monorail again, then to Erxiao on the Eiffel Tower viewing deck. Taisheng and several other guards come and tell him to come with them. Erxai is holding a megaphone which is playing a repeating message; he gives it to Fei, and she leaves it, still playing, on a table. The camera stays on the tale and the megaphone for a few seconds.

Cut to Taisheng out near the pyramids; Erxiao approaches. Taisheng asks him "did you do it," and then slaps him when he does not answer. Erxiao walks away, and Taisheng follows and slaps him some more, calling him "good for nothing."

That night, in the park, Taisheng walks through one of the palaces. He shines his light in he faces of two statues. Later, in the daytime, Fei is on the viewing platform, sitting at a table with the megaphone still playing.

Tao sits on a bed in the same hotel from a few scenes ago; she turns on her phone and makes a call. Cut to Taisheng, whose phone rings. He is sitting with Liao Qun. He turns off the phone. She tells him that she has gotten her passport (and so presumably will be leaving to be with her husband). She offers to invite both him and Tao to dinner. Taisheng's phone rings again, and he takes it to the window to talk.

Cut to a hospital, where Taisheng enters and asks after Little Sister. Learn from Sanlai in the waiting room that Little Sister was hurt when a cable broke and things fell on him while he was working at night. Taisheng berates Sanlai for not looking after Little Sister.

Taisheng gets a text; an animated sequence follows, in which we learn that it is from Tao, who tells him she is waiting in room 306 of the Hongyun Hotel.

Taisheng is called back to Little Sister's room; he is covered in bandages, unable to speak. Taisheng tells him it will be alright, but clearly does not think so. He asks Little Sister to write down what he is trying to say.

Back out in waiting room, Taisheng gives Sanlai what Little Sister wrote down; Sanlai begins to weep. Taisheng leaves. The camera stays on Sanlai for a while, then pans slowly across the wall, where we see Little Sister's message, as though it were written on the wall. It is a list of debts. It is also signed with his real name, Chen Zijuan, which we are hearing for the first time.

The next scene opens in daytime, with a shot of the park skyline. Text on screen appears, reading "Tokyo Story." A woman gets her picture taken with the skyline in the background. Tao walks across a bridge; the film then cuts to the Japanese section of the park, with Tao and another woman in Kimono preparing for the tea ceremony. The other woman says "Some things should stay between us," and Tao answers that she doesn't know anything to tell anyone. Two other women arrive; one is Wei. We learn that she and her boyfriend are going to get married. The others leave, but Tao stays, looking at the wedding invitation. Then her phone goes off, and, in an animated sequence, we see a text from Taisheng in which he tells her that Little Sister has died.

At train station, Tao meets members of Little Sister's family as they arrive from his home town. Little Sister's father signs some papers, and Taisheng gives him money. Some kind of insurance? He puts the money in his jacket. He is crying, and looks very tired. A Long shot follows of the father and mother sitting, looking stunned.

Cut to a group of men sitting around a fire back at the construction site.

Back at the park, a meeting of some kind. Tao is there. The woman in charge says that "Dr. Mu has an announcement." Dr. Mu says that he has good news: they have made an agreement with central TV to broadcast the New Year's show from the park; it will reach one billion viewers. They are also told that the woman in charge, "troupe supervisor," has been promoted and another woman (Youyou) is the new supervisor. She looks very young. Among other things, she tells Tao that she will play the "African woman." The troupe leaves, and the camera stays with Youyou for a while.

Taisheng and Liao Qun in her studio; she is packed and ready to leave. He offers to go with her to the airport, but she declines, noting that her family will be there. While she talks to an employee about some photos, Taisheng goes to the window and looks out at some trash on fire in the alley behind.

Cut to Tao and Taisheng riding in a rickshaw. She says "Let's get married." He does not respond.

At Wei's wedding reception. Text on the screen appears, reading "The Ever-Changing World." Taisheng's phone, sitting on the table, gets a text and Tao picks it up; in an animated sequence, we see that it says "Destined to have met you. I'll never forget you," and is from Qun.

Later, Taisheng is at Song's house, looking at his phone. Someone asks him "Still not married?" He makes a call, but apparently gets no answer. In the background, a group of men plays Mah Jong.

In the performers' quarters at the park, Tao is in her room, and we see her putting on her raincoat and laying down in bed in it. She earlier told Taisheng that she used to do this to keep warm when she first came to Beijing. Still wearing it, he turns off the light.

Later, Taisheng is at the troupe's quarters, looking for Tao; a group of girls, who are rehearsing, tell him she has gone out. He watches them for a while, then looks out at the park.

Cut to Tao in stage dress, looking out at the Arc de Triomphe. She talks briefly with Youyou.

In the show, Tao is performing in a big, elaborate, western-style wedding dress

Cut to a brief shot of Taisheng, driving a minibus through mostly empty streets.

Taisheng goes to Wei's apartment; she is on her honeymoon, and "a friend" is watching the place while she is gone. Taisheng goes and knocks at the door. Tao, it turns out, is the "friend." Eventually, she lets him in, but says nothing, just sits and stares, not responding to his efforts at small talk. He asks what is wrong, and why she left without saying good-bye, but she still does not reply.

Cut to shot of a factory, with snow falling. Hear voices saying that someone has gotten gas poisoning; voices, yelling, confusion. Initially, it is too dark to see any of these people. Eventually, see a group of men carrying someone outside and laying them down on the ground; then a second person. These are Tao and Taisheng.

The screen goes black; Taisheng's voice asks, "Are we dead?" and Tao's says "No. This is just the beginning." Cut to credits and main theme music.