Qian Li Zou Dan Qi plot
One day, Japanese village fisherman Gou-ichi Takada is urged to come to Tokyo by his daughter-in-law Rie. His son Kenichi, whom he has not seen for ten years, has been hospitalized with liver cancer. Rie sees this event as a way to reconnect father and son. Kenichi, however, does not want to hear about a reconciliation. Before Gou-ichi heads back to the countryside, Rie hands him a videotape. Returning home, Gou-ichi watches the videotape, which his son made in the southern Chinese province of Yunnan as part of a research project on Chinese folk arts. The videotape shows a failed attempt by Kenichi to entice the best singer in the region to perform the classic operetta song "Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles". Singer Li Jiamin claims to have been stricken with a severe flu that has prevented him from singing. However, he promises Kenichi that he can film him on his next visit. Moved by the fact that his bedridden son will probably never return to Yunnan, Gou-ichi decides to go to China to film Li's performance himself. This despite the fact that he does not speak Mandarin and has no knowledge of Chinese music.