Beijing, 1970s. The Cultural Revolution has driven most adults to the provinces leaving 14-year-old Monkey and his pals have free reign over the city. They hang around, get up to no good, and discover that unsolvable mystery known as "girls."
An old teahouse in Beijing serves as the stage for a drama that unfolds over several tumultuous decades of modern Chinese history, from the waning days of the Qing dynasty to the eve of the People's Republic.
A new young manager in a state-run restaurant finds his non-traditional approach to management is not popular with the older managers. Life has been frustrating for refreshment company worker Niu Hong, whose troubles only seem to double when he factors in his responsibilities as manager of the...