The film shows the society and life in Beijing in 1920s through the eyes of a 6 year old girl. Yingzi Lin moves to Beijing from Taiwan with her parents. They live in a lane in the southern part of the city. As an energetic but sensitive girl, she spends a lot of time hanging out with her friends. They run around the busy streets and lanes, and do a lot people watching. She meets all kinds of people, including a mad woman at the door of a guildhall, her playmate Niuer who was mistreated, a guy who steals to pay for his brother's tuition fees hiding himself in a deserted courtyard, Amah Song who was a wet nurse in her family and her loving father, a highly respected professor, who is seriously ill and dies of disease. After experiencing a bitter life, Yingzi leaves Beijing with her mother.