During the most difficult years of the Anti-Japanese War in 1941, the Japanese invaders and the Kuomintang's forces colluded with each other harassing the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia border area. Because of this, people faced many difficulties. A charcoal burning team of Eighth Route Army in Yan'an responded to the call of the Party Central Committee and Chairman Mao to "do it yourself, get enough food and clothing". Under the leadership of the captain Zhao Changlong, they rush to the deep mountains and old forests to cut through thorns, camp, and dig kilns to burn charcoal.

The film follows a group of Chinese People's Volunteer Army soldiers who are holding Triangle Hill for several days against US forces. Short of both food and water, they hold their ground until the relief troops arrive. The movie portray the battle as a Chinese victory over an American invasion, and the People's Volunteer Army soldiers were shown as Chinese war heroes."

An Old Man and His Dog is a 1993 Chinese film directed by Xie Jin.

The story of Pan Dongzi, a teenager and son of a Communist army officer. When the father is called off, he leaves Dongzi a red star as a symbol of the cause. While he is away, a bourgeois landlord, Hu Hansan, returns to Dongzi's village where he exacts revenge upon the peasants who had forced him out

People's Liberation Army troops overcome difficulties to find a route to build a bridge to Shizi Mountain.