Introduction -- X-roads : old and new city films -- Dislocation : Huang Jianxin's urban searching for roots -- No one cheers : the later fifth generation and the urban "situation movie" -- Beijing bastards : century's end rock scenes and China's Generation X -- Captives of love : emotional styles and the new urbanites -- Lunar eclipse : elusive urban realities -- City paradise : urbanization looms over an old land -- Conclusion