The first story centers on the lanes of Lingnan during the Republican era. Young Lin Yaozu is known throughout the neighborhood as a gifted lion dancer. In his hands, the vermilion lion head spins and leaps in dazzling flourishes, and his acrobatics to the beat of the drums always draw cheers from the whole street. Few people know that every afternoon, when practice is over, he clutches a candied fruit and takes a detour to the little courtyard at the end of the lane, overgrown with trumpet creepers. That is where the frail Su Wan lives. This is the story of their tragic love.
The second story follows Lin Yaozu, Zhou Jingming, and a child named A Wan as they build a stage in the courtyard and practice lion dancing. From the bustle of starting work in early spring, to the focus of rehearsals at dusk, to their spectacular performance at the Dragon Boat Festival temple fair, memories of their departed loved one, Su Wan, run through every line. The sound of drums beneath the willow trees and the swaying red lanterns evoke a warm, enduring story of the years that link past and present.
