A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT HOPE. Running through the Silk Road town of Hotan in western China, the Yurungkash River dries up during the winter, exposing a bed of stones rubbed smooth by Himalayan snow water.
By a quirk of geology, among these stones is one the world’s most valuable gemstones: Jade.
40 times more valuable than gold, Hotan is one of the few places on earth to find Jade. Partly observational, partly impressionistic, the film describes a day in the life of the Muslim community hoping to strike it rich. A hope rarely fulfilled. Their relentless, backbreaking, Sisyphean efforts result in little success.
China’s Wild West eschews politics and portrays the lives, hopes and expectations of a group of simple, spiritual people who - in more ways than might first be obvious - represent us all.
