Jalainur (a Mongolian word meaning “ocean-like lake”), located in the northernmost part of China, near the border of China and Russia, is an open-pit colliery with over-100-years of history, where you can still see the unusual sight of steam trains in service. Now the “huge pit” is almost empty, the steam trains will be retired, and a large number of colliery workers are facing the crisis of being laid off. The two protagonists of this film are Old Zhu, a steam train driver, and his apprentice, Li Zhizhong, a train signalman, they have worked very closely together. The entire film is shot on actual location in Jalainur.
