A group of Lisu people without a registered ID (Hukou) live their primitive life in the mountains by the Nujiang River in Yunnan. In addition to misfortune and hardships, they also have simple happiness.
Rubel wants to join school but reality forces him to smuggle across the River Ganges between India and Bangladesh. The same river eroded his home. Now he lives on Char, an island within this river which starts eroding now.
In southwestern Hunan, many people mine illegally for a living, and many miners develop pneumoconiosis. After the illegal mines are shut down by the government, their road to misery begins.