Director: Qu Ziteng

Synopsis

A detailed record of a real journey. Accompanied by their children, several elderly people who have settled in the city return to their village in Jiaxian County, northern Shaanxi, which they left many years ago, and set foot again on the loess land that holds their deep feelings. Every hill and stone, every blade of grass and tree there witnessed their history of struggle, in which hardship and happiness coexisted, and recorded the vivid years of their youth. They walk and look, crossing mountains and fields; the shepherds on the road and old acquaintances they meet by chance become the rewards of the journey. On the bank of the Yellow River the water flows, calm and long. As the sun sets they watch the herders drive the sheep back to the pen and listen to the clear sound of sheep bells. At night the elders and the younger generation gather in a traditional courtyard of a loess family, enjoying the cool breeze and drinking at a wooden table; a few drinking songs in four-line verses express all the homesickness and attachment of the children of the loess. As the sun rises, farmers work in the fields and birds sing as they fly over the paths. At the time of parting, the relatives who hosted them see the elders off with dishes that are plain but full of home cooking. As they leave, several large bundles of vegetables and a bag of corn picked on the bank of the Yellow River are the most practical gifts a loess family can give. After leaving the village, the elders and their children burn incense and pray at Baiyun Mountain, a well-known Taoist mountain in the area. Then, carrying their love and longing for the loess land, they bid farewell to their hometown under a sky full of sunset clouds and set off on the journey home...