Director: Zhang Zhong

Year: 2024

Tian Li is about to end his three-year work in Xinjiang and reunite with his wife and daughter when he learns at the airport about malicious sanctions against China by the West including the U.S., citing human rights in Xinjiang and banning the import of Xinjiang cotton. With Akdala facing a crisis and the factory manager, Aili, missing, Tian decides to return without hesitation. Meanwhile, 18-year-old Shanghai girl Hao Chunli and 20-year-old Li Xiuming head to Akdala to help develop the border region. During their work cultivating Xinjiang cotton, Li Huaihe and Hao fall in love, but on their wedding day, Hao mysteriously disappears. As Tian and Li Huaihe confront the crisis in the cotton industry, progress begins to emerge, but tragedy strikes when Hao's body is found, leaving Li Huaihe heartbroken. Here, resilience and love are intertwined, expressing a deep sentiment: it's not about needing each other, but about a mutual desire to stay together.