Guei (Cui Lin), a strong-willed young man, comes to Beijing from the countryside and finds work with the Fei Messenger Service. As part of his new job, he receives a mountain bicycle that he can eventually purchase. "Think of yourselves as the carrier pigeons of today," says his boss to a bunch of new recruits. Each of them must learn the city and know it as well as the back of their hands.

Soon the delivery boy is riding through the city, his eyes filled with wonder at all the new things he sees. Da Huan (Li Shuang), a shopkeeper, is very impressed with Guei's new job. He is much taken with Qin (Zhou Xun), a beautiful woman who lives in a high-rise apartment building.

On the day before Guei is going to purchase his bicycle, it is stolen. His boss tells him that if he can find it, he'll be able to stay with the company. This stubborn young man is convinced he'll be able to locate the bike even though Beijing is filled with this popular means of transportation. Then Da Huan spots Guei's bike in the possession of Jian (Li Bin), a high school youth who claims he bought it in a flea market.

Wang Xiaoshuai is the Chinese director at the helm of this intricately structured and well-realized urban drama. At the heart of the story is the class warfare between the rural delivery boy and the teenager from a private school who travels in a gang. The bicycle is what connects these two and it has special value to them both. For Guei, of course, it is the key to his livelihood and survival in the city. For Jian, it is a status symbol that lures a girlfriend (Gao Yuanyuahn) to his side and provides independence from his family problems.

The battle of wills between Guei and Jian predictably turns violent and then leads to a wise compromise: they share the bicycle. However, even with this satisfying solution to their dilemma, Guei ends up getting the short side of the stick. Beijing Bicycle presents a fascinating glimpse of urban life and the way chance brings people together in life-changing moments.

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