Roadside Picnic

In the mystical,subtropical province of Guizhou, there is a small county clinic surrounded by fog. At the Kaili clinic, there are two doctors who live quiet, lonely lives. One of the doctors, Chen Sheng, embarks on a journey by train to find his nephew, who had been abandoned by his brother. On the way to Zhenyuan ,Chen Sheng came across a place called Dang Mai, where time seemed to flow both forwards and backwards, the lives of the local people a complete mystery. He experiences his own past and future, lending him insight into his own life. Once Chen arrives at Zhen Yuan, rather than approaching his nephew, he watches secretly from a distance, he is surprised to find that his nephew flourished in the absence of his father, and decides not to interfere in his life. Before he had left Kaili, he had promised his colleague that he would stop by the home of her former lover to deliver some items, but upon his arrival, he is told that the man had passed away, and he leaves the box of mementos with the son of his colleague's former lover. Chen once again boards the train to return home. His mind is troubled, he cannot decide whether he believes that the world as he experiences it, is a product of his imagination, or if he is just a part of some large collective dream.