If your idea of Chinese cinema begins and ends with the biggest names in the game, it’s time to widen the frame. For this watchlist, RADII tapped Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) to dig deeper, asking its faculty and wider academic community to handpick the Chinese-language films they think deserve your attention. The result is a wonderfully eclectic lineup that jumps from Zhang Yimou’s manic urban comedy to Tibetan-language cinema, Indonesian Chinese family drama, Hong Kong kung fu parody, and intimate stories of love, class, memory, and growing up.
Based in Suzhou, XJTLU is an international joint-venture university founded by Xi’an Jiaotong University and the University of Liverpool. It is the largest Sino-foreign cooperative university approved by China’s Ministry of Education, with more than 26,000 students from 90+ countries and regions and degree programs taught in English. Its famously international setup includes exchange opportunities, overseas study routes, and the distinctive 2+2 pathway between Suzhou and Liverpool. RADII has been working with XJTLU for some time, and we wanted to tap into that cross-cultural brain trust for a must-watch list that takes readers beyond the usual canon. Consider this your new Chinese cinema syllabus—no lecture hall required.
1. Dear You (2026)
Original title: 给阿嬷的情书
Recommended by: Wai Kit Leong, assistant professor at XJTLU’s Academy of Film and Creative Technology
Why? “This film captures the quiet, unshakeable power of ordinary Chinese people — especially women — to honor love and duty across decades and oceans. It turns a piece of living history, the qiaopi (侨批), or overseas Chinese remittance letters, into a story so tender and restrained that it will stay with you long after the credits roll.”
2. Check the Store Next Door (2016)
Original title: Cek Toko Sebelah
Recommended by: Vionna Fiducia Theja, English writer and editor
Why? “I think I remember the movie fondly because it reflects a lot of the intricacies of Chinese-Indonesian families in Indonesia, who are considered third- or fourth-generation immigrants. These families have lived in Indonesia for generations, speak fluent Indonesian more than Chinese, operate local businesses, and deal with both cultural and generational conflicts that result from inherited values that are very different from those of the locals. They make up no more than 3% of Indonesia’s total population.”
3. China’s Van Goghs (2017)
Chinese title: 中国梵高
Recommended by: Stephen Andriano-Moore, associate professor at XJTLU’s Academy of Film and Creative Technology
Why? “The film follows a painter from Shenzhen who runs a shop in the oil painting village of Dafen, recreating Van Gogh paintings, and highlights the painter’s artistic endeavors and the issues of labor in the painting reproduction business.”
4. Keep Cool (1997)
Original title: 有话好好说
Recommended by: Cheng Fang, assistant professor at XJTLU’s Academy of Film and Creative Technology
Why? “A brilliantly frenetic and wildly underrated urban comedy from Zhang Yimou, where jittery handheld camerawork and a farcical tale of obsession hilariously expose the chaos and anxiety of modern communication.”
5. The Troubleshooters (1989)
Original title: 顽主
Recommended by: Jiyu Zhang, assistant professor at XJTLU’s Department of Media and Communication
Why? “Offering a rare glimpse into a society that used to be bound by political dogmas, this film testifies to the ideological strife and socioeconomic reform of the 1980s. With its caricatural portrayal, this film should be fun to watch, but also thought-provoking.”
6. Her Story (2024)
Original title: 好东西
Recommended by: Kelvin Ke Jinde, assistant professor at XJTLU’s Department of Media and Communication
Why? “Her Story offers an intimate portrait of Chinese women in contemporary Shanghai as they navigate the shifting expectations of love, family, and society.”
7. A Time to Live and a Time to Die (1985)
Original title: 童年往事
Recommended by: Bing Li, assistant professor at XJTLU’s Academy of Film and Creative Technology
Why? “Childhood fades, but a grandmother’s memory lingers like heat haze.”
8. The Pig, the Snake and the Pigeon (2023)
Original title: 周处除三害
Recommended by: Patricia Pieterse, international content manager at XJTLU
Why? “Shockingly violent while also being contemplatively slow, which is not a combination I thought I’d enjoy as much as I did. Don’t let the poster of a laughing man in handcuffs fool you — this one gets dark.”
9. Kung Fu Hustle (2004)
Recommended by: Michael D. High, assistant professor at XJTLU’s Department of Media and Communication
Why? “Kung Fu Hustle (2004) is actor-turned-director Stephen Chow’s first mainland and transnational feature film. Chow began his film career in the Hong Kong film industry, but Kung Fu Hustle brings together Hong Kong, the Chinese mainland, and Hollywood financing in a loving parody of kung fu films, with cartoonish action, real emotional impact, and a tighter structure than Chow’s earlier comedy films.”
10. Better Days (2019)
Original title: 少年的你
Recommended by: Christiaan Mentz, BA filmmaking student at XJTLU
Why? “Seemingly piling on the pressures of gaokao, bullying, and the uncertainty of what the future might look like without a degree from a good university, the film deftly unpacks all of these to make you care deeply about the protagonists.”
11. Return Ticket (2011)
Original title: 到阜阳六百里
Recommended by: Yibin Yu, assistant professor at XJTLU’s Academy of Film and Creative Technology
Why? “I worked on this film as its sound supervisor in 2011, collaborating with director Teng Yung-Shing. It was made on a budget of just 800,000 RMB and shot on film over 18 days. Despite its modest production, the film earned a nomination for Best Feature Film at the 48th Golden Horse Awards and went on to win Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress.”
12. Farewell My Concubine (1993)
Original title: 霸王别姬
Recommended by: Hui Miao, assistant professor at XJTLU’s Department of Media and Communication
Why? “The reason I chose this film is that its story and emotional power capture the feeling of living through 20th-century China and its cultural sensibilities.”
13. Lost on Journey (2010)
Original title: 人在囧途
Recommended by: Michael Mackenzie, assistant professor at XJTLU’s Academy of Film and Creative Technology
Why? “A Chinese comedy about a wealthy factory boss and a working-class migrant worker who are forced to travel home together for Chinese New Year on a train, clashing over class and cultural differences. Very funny, with great acting.”
14. Kaili Blues (2015)
Original title: 路边野餐
Recommended by: Lezhi Li, video and multimedia officer at XJTLU
Why? “With the director’s distinctive use of long takes and dreamlike transitions, this film follows a journey through southwest China while exploring memory, time, and place in a poetic and highly distinctive way.”
15. Tharlo (2015)
Chinese title: 塔洛
Recommended by: Sijia Aileen Meng, lecturer at XJTLU’s Academy of Film and Creative Technology
Why? “Tharlo is a beautifully crafted Tibetan-language film by pioneering Tibetan filmmaker Pema Tseden (Wanma Caidan) that offers an authentic and deeply human portrait of an Indigenous Tibetan shepherd navigating the tensions between tradition and modernity in Qinghai’s Tibetan region.”
Cover image via Letterboxd.