Cai Jiaming

On 1949 October 1, the day of the founding ceremony of the People's Republic of China, Xiao Dali enters the city and is reorganized as the director of the public security police station. He finds that primary school teacher Feng Jingbo is full of doubts. With the high vigilance of a soldier and the sense of responsibility of a public security official, Dali insists on partnering with Feng and becomes his neighbor. He then spends his whole life carrying out a nearly four-decade pursuit without regrets.

A group of Chinese refugees and straggler soldiers, led by a machinist, defend their mountain town, "Gezhi," against a surprise attack by Japanese reconnaissance troops in a desperate fight using civilian ingenuity against a trained military force.