One poster of the documentary film Photo: Sage Culture Media Co.,Ltd.

 
 
A Chinese documentary film named City Dream will be released in cinemas on Friday. It was shot in 2014 and follows the conflicts between urban management staff, or chengguan, and illegal street vendors in Wuhan, showing that the relationship between these two groups is not simple.

The film, issued by Sage Culture Media Co, was directed by well-known Chinese director Chen Weijun and was selected in the documentary feature section for the 2019 Toronto Film Festival. It has received highly positive reviews, with people praising its reality and humor.

City Dream deals with some heavy and difficult problems, such as the process of urban development and how to deal with the thousands of vendors. It also has some amusing scenes and stories. 

The main scene is a busy street in 2014 in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei Province. On the street, there is a family illegally occupying the roadside to sell fruit, which they have done for years, according to an introduction sent to the Global Times.

The father, 70-year-old Wang Tiancheng, was firm in resisting the local chengguan, so the illegal stall was not removed for a long time.

In the communication with Wang's family, the documentary shows the chengguan's patience. Once Wang even slapped the face of a team leader surnamed Hu, who did not react and said it would be alright as long as the problem could be solved.

While audiences feel sympathy with the chengguan, the film also tells the story of the poor family, some of whom are ill or disabled. 

Wang is a stroke patient and his wife has cancer. The right hand of Wang's son was cut off when he was working in a factory, meaning that he cannot find a normal job. The family moved to Wuhan from rural areas of Henan because of poverty.

The big hope for the family is Wang's granddaughter, who is a student at a junior high school in Wuhan whose grades are good. To ensure the girl's education and reasonable quality of life, the family needs to live in the city and the stall is their only source of income.

The film shows that the deputy captain of the urban management team also understands the difficulties faced by the street vendors.

At the end of the film, Wang's family compromises with the chengguan and agrees to remove the illegal stall after the government arranges another legal place for them. The film lets audiences decide what is the best solution. 

Another film by Chen, Please Vote for Me, was named by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as one of 15 films on its documentary feature shortlist.