'Great Happiness' is an ensemble movie centering on three good friends, who have grown up together in Xining, the capital of Qingdao province in the western part of China, and developed their own visions of a bright future in this developing and expanding city. Belonging to the generation born at the time of the One Child Policy, the three young men are con- fronted with challenges such as the frustrations of fulfilling personal goals and the burden of supporting a large family against a backdrop of homogenous high-rise buildings.