Beijing, 1902: an enterprising young portrait photographer named Liu Jinglun, keen on new technology, befriends a newly-arrived Englishman who's brought projector, camera, and Lumière-brothers' shorts to open the Shadow Magic theater. Liu's work with Wallace brings him conflict with tradition and his father's authority, complicated by his falling in love with Ling, daughter of Lord Tan, star of Beijing's traditional opera. Liu sees movies as his chance to become wealthy and worthy of Ling. When the Shadow Magic pair are invited to show the films to the Empress Dowager, things look good. But, is disaster in the script? And, can movies preserve tradition even as they bring change?

People in Hujiazhuang Village focus less and less on the Spring Festival. The lion dance boy Luo Chuan dreams of carrying forward lion dance culture and skills but often causes great turmoil wherever he goes. He's considered as a "dangerous element" by the villagers and the head Hu. The Monster Nian, comes to the human world by accident and takes away the lion head, the village's heirloom. While trying to get the lion head back, Luo Chuan gets to know Axi, the Immortal Mouse, that comes to the mortal world to catch the Monster Nian. They gradually realize Nian is not scary at all and can make friends with humans, but Hu makes a plot against Nian after being possessed by the Spirit-Devouring Demon. In the end, Luo Chuan and Axi, together with other villagers, defeat the Spirit-Devouring Demon and awakens Hu.

Ah Shui returns with her sister to a remote mountain village in Hunan (Western China) by car(an S.U.V.) and remembers episodes of her life that are related to a water project. Despite being a foggy and sometimes rainy area water is scarce and poverty is omnipresent.

Having been released after serving his sentence, a funeral director accidentally crosses paths with a girl which brings about an unexpected change in his attitude towards life.

With a unique perspective of the accompanying cameraman of Premier Zhou Enlai, the film tactfully tells the story that Premier Zhou went to the old revolutionary base area of Hebei Province at the beginning of the 1960s when our country suffered from the Great Chinese Feminine. He made in-depth research in Boyan commune of Handan District, work closely with the masses, followed up a clue and seized the culprit in four days and nights.

An accidental death of the suspect leads to the entire team of the Third Division being imprisoned. Six years later, team leader Cheng Bing is released but remains consumed by the case. Over the next eleven years, he lives a normal life while secretly tracking down the killer, determined to see justice served.