Examines the bewilderment of the generation of Chinese born after 1978 during China's reform and opening up. Several 30-year-olds compare their growing up conditions with those of their parents. Being the first generation without government allocated housing and health benefits and assigned jobs, they feel displaced and long for the job security and stable life their parents enjoyed. A man misses the fresh air of his village which has been overtaken by industrial pollution. Notes that although China has made great economic progress during the past 30 years, it has paid a heavy price politically and morally to achieve it.