The life and trials of You Tianming, a young suona apprentice who forms his own suona troupe at a time when the traditions of suona music are declining in Chinese society.

Set in the late 1950s, after Japan's devastating occupation in China, RED GRASS SAND is an involving look at one man's need for power. The film begins in 1941, when Commander Dor, of the Chinese Army, collects donations from his people and decides to keep the donations and burying them at Red Beach. He returns 15 years later with plans of returning to power, only to find its current inhabitants to be more than a little hostile.

Prompted by the death of his father and the grief of his mother, a man recalls the story of how they met in flashback.

Four parallel stories of people just getting by, unfolding over seven days in Beijing. For most of the story, the main characters mis-connect with others, except through their pagers.