Chengshi zhi ye(1933)

Chengshi zhi ye is a silent film set in urban poverty, following a young woman from the slums forced into dock work to survive. When her landlord announces plans to demolish the tenement, she faces an impossible choice: surrender herself to the landlord's son in exchange for a construction delay. The film captures the desperation of working-class life and the exploitation faced by vulnerable women in early twentieth-century cities. Now considered lost, Chengshi zhi ye remains a significant artifact of early Chinese cinema, documenting both the social conditions and moral dilemmas of its era through a stark, unflinching narrative.