Neighborhood Committee

The lowest administrative body in Chinese cities is the neighborhood committee; the staff are retired old ladies, known as the “Little Foot Detective Team.” Community security, cleaning, posting slogans, catching thieves, and issuing government documents are all the responsibility of the neighborhood committee. The neighborhood committee for this film is located on the south bank of the Emperor’s Garden in Beijing, where all the people living here are now. The film began shooting in 1999, when the Chinese government celebrated the 50th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. The neighborhood committees were busy cleaning up their domains and collecting fees.