Set in 1939 in Shaanxi province, China, during a period when the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Kuomingtang (KMT) have joined forces against Japanese invaders, Yellow Earth follows the journey of Gu Qing, a soldier from the propaganda department of the CCP Eighth Routh Army who learns about the hardship of peasant life. Yellow Earth was Chen Kaige’s directorial debut and featured cinematography by Zhang Yimou.