There is a strong fascination with romanticism and the urban condition in many works of Chinese cinema, especially those from the Sixth Generation. This piece combines dialogue and video from two very different films, Suzhou River (Lou Ye, 2000) and Beijing Bicycle (Wang Xiaoshuai, 2001), into a single thought on this common theme.

Additional music/sound by World’s End Girlfriend and from the Shanghai subway’s automated announcement system. Subtitles added. Video is a loop; please right-click the player and turn looping ON.