Boatman's Daughter

The film concerns the misfortunes of an innocent woman, Ah Ling, who lives with her father in Hangzhou, where they rent a boat transporting passengers across the West Lake. Ah Ling is in love with Tie’er, a factory worker who takes her boat every day. The peaceful life is disrupted by the appearance of a playboy artist from Shanghai. For his father’s debt, Ah Ling is soon sold into prostitution. Three months later, Tie’er finds her in a brothel and tries to free her and he is arrested. (Encyclopedia of Chinese Film, ed.Xiao Zhiwei, Zhang Yingjin)