# Summer of Changsha
**Summer of Changsha** (Chinese title *Liu Yu Tian*, 六欲天) is a 2019 Chinese crime drama directed by the actor Zu Feng (祖峰), his debut as a director, in which he also plays the lead. Set during a scorching summer in Changsha, the capital of Hunan province, it follows a police detective investigating a dismemberment case who becomes drawn to the victim's sister, a surgeon, as both struggle with grief, guilt, and depression.[1](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/liu-yu-tian/) • [2](https://www.screendaily.com/features/cannes-market-hong-kong-and-china-buzz-titles/5139452.article)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original title | *Liu Yu Tian* (六欲天); international title Summer of Changsha[1](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/liu-yu-tian/) |
| Director and lead | Zu Feng, in his directorial debut; screenplay by Zhou Yang[1](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/liu-yu-tian/) |
| Main cast | Zu Feng (A Bin), Huang Lu (Li Xue), Chen Minghao (Lei), Zhang Qianru (Tingting)[1](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/liu-yu-tian/) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10199668/) |
| Premiere | 22 May 2019, Un Certain Regard section, Cannes Film Festival; competing for the Caméra d'or[1](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/liu-yu-tian/) • [4](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/2019/liu-yu-tian-summer-of-changsha-as-seen-by-zu-feng/) |
| Runtime | 116 minutes per the Cannes festival record; IMDb lists 120 minutes[1](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/liu-yu-tian/) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10199668/) |
| Chinese release | 1 November 2019; box office of roughly one million yuan[5](https://ent.people.com.cn/n1/2019/1107/c1012-31441910.html) |
| Production | Gootime Media Co., Ltd., producer Li Rui; shot in Changsha from late June to early August 2018[6](https://cdn.festival-cannes.com/media/uploads/2023/03/94773.pdf) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
A Bin, a police detective in Changsha, intends to resign after the suicide of his girlfriend, whose depression he has been unable to heal.[7](https://www.istanbulmodern.org/en/film/summer-of-changsha) When a severed arm is found in the river, he is assigned to sift through the missing persons lists and joins the investigation.[7](https://www.istanbulmodern.org/en/film/summer-of-changsha) He meets Li Xue, a hospital surgeon who says the victim is her missing brother and who recounts a dream in which the brother told her where his remaining remains could be found; the remains turn up exactly there.[8](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/summer-of-changsha-cannes-review/5139702.article)
As the two get to know each other, A Bin learns that Li Xue lost her daughter to [Tetralogy of Fallot](https://www.edgepedia.org/tetralogy-of-fallot), a congenital heart defect, and fell into depression herself.[8](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/summer-of-changsha-cannes-review/5139702.article) • [9](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E5%85%AD%E6%AC%B2%E5%A4%A9/22689294?fromModule=tashuo-article_bottom-lemma) Grieving and guilt unite the detective and the doctor, and the film shifts from procedural toward psychodrama, ending on the question of whether the two damaged people can find redemption and a second chance.[1](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/liu-yu-tian/) • [8](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/summer-of-changsha-cannes-review/5139702.article) A third figure, Tingting, the recently dumped ex-girlfriend of A Bin's partner Lei, also enters A Bin's life.[8](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/summer-of-changsha-cannes-review/5139702.article) • [9](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E5%85%AD%E6%AC%B2%E5%A4%A9/22689294?fromModule=tashuo-article_bottom-lemma)
## Production
Zu Feng, born in 1974 in Nanjing, was a well-known television and film actor, with credits including *The Founding of a Party* (2011), the series *Lurk* (2009), and *Ode to Joy* (2016), and had taught acting and dialogue at the Beijing Film Academy for six years.[10](https://kcainfo.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/small-book-merge-low.pdf) The script originated as a student graduation screenplay; Zu Feng's wife, the actress and teacher Liu Tianchi, found it and thought the male lead suited him. Producer [Li Rui](https://www.edgepedia.org/li-rui) bought the rights, and he and Liu Tianchi persuaded Zu Feng to direct it himself.[11](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E5%85%AD%E6%AC%B2%E5%A4%A9/22689294?fromModule=lemma_inlink)
**Depression as subject.** Zu Feng wanted the film to draw social attention to the harm caused by depression and to the needs of the people around patients.[11](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E5%85%AD%E6%AC%B2%E5%A4%A9/22689294?fromModule=lemma_inlink) While polishing the second draft, the crew visited depression patients, their families, and doctors to try to portray the condition accurately.[11](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E5%85%AD%E6%AC%B2%E5%A4%A9/22689294?fromModule=lemma_inlink) Zu Feng said his own experience of depression made the script feel familiar to him.[12](https://media.people.com.cn/n1/2019/1104/c40606-31434878.html)
**Titles.** The original script was titled simply "Heat". Producer Li Rui changed the Chinese title to *Liu Yu Tian*, which he felt reflected the story's meaning, and his wife, also his business partner, coined the English title Summer of Changsha because the film was shot in, and set during, the scorching heat of a Changsha summer.[6](https://cdn.festival-cannes.com/media/uploads/2023/03/94773.pdf) Zu Feng explained that 六欲天 refers to the six heavens of the desire realm in [Buddhist cosmology](https://www.edgepedia.org/buddhist-cosmology), matching a story in which the characters discuss the soul of the dead and whether another world exists.[5](https://ent.people.com.cn/n1/2019/1107/c1012-31441910.html) The Chinese title shown at the start of the film and on the posters was handwritten by Zu Feng with his favorite brush.[6](https://cdn.festival-cannes.com/media/uploads/2023/03/94773.pdf)
**Shooting.** The film was shot in Changsha from the last ten days of June 2018 to the beginning of August 2018, the hottest period of the city's year.[6](https://cdn.festival-cannes.com/media/uploads/2023/03/94773.pdf) Screenwriter Zhou Yang is from Changsha, and the director noted that the city's lack of a strong regional identity, apart from its oppressive summer heat and humidity, let the story read as universal rather than specifically local.[13](https://damned-distribution.squarespace.com/s/DP-Un-ete-a-Changsha.pdf)
## Cannes and censorship
The film premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes on 22 May 2019, competing for the Caméra d'or as a first film.[1](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/liu-yu-tian/) • [4](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/2019/liu-yu-tian-summer-of-changsha-as-seen-by-zu-feng/) A day before the premiere, the film's official Weibo page announced that the cast and crew would not attend the festival or its official events because of "technical reasons", a euphemism widely read as referring to problems with Chinese censors.[14](https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3011416/cannes-2019-summer-changsha-film-review-crime-drama) A Letterboxd account of the premiere noted that the film screened without the "dragon seal", the approval mark required for theatrical release in China.[15](https://letterboxd.com/film/summer-of-changsha/reviews/)
The film later received a public release permit: the National Film Administration's October 2019 list of permits for domestic feature films includes *Liu Yu Tian* under permit number 1105692019, registered to Tianjin Gutian Film and Television Culture Co.[16](https://www.chinafilm.gov.cn/xxgk/gsxx/dygyxkz/201910/t20191021_96684.html) It held its Chinese premiere at the Pingyao International Film Festival on 12 October 2019 and opened in mainland Chinese cinemas on 1 November 2019.[17](https://www.infzm.com/contents/163337?source=124&source_1=217215) • [9](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E5%85%AD%E6%AC%B2%E5%A4%A9/22689294?fromModule=tashuo-article_bottom-lemma)
## Reception
Critical response at Cannes was largely negative. Jonathan Romney of *Screen International* called it a disappointingly lacklustre affair whose procedural thrills sink into tepid psychodrama, criticizing the inert handling of its one action sequence and a turn toward unconvincing spirituality.[8](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/summer-of-changsha-cannes-review/5139702.article) Jessica Kiang of *Variety* described a muddy, deterministic plot in which guilt-ridden characters bond tenuously while a heat wave makes everyone torpid.[18](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/summer_of_changsha) Deborah Young of *The Hollywood Reporter* was more positive, praising the poetic screenplay, Dong Yingda's melancholy score, and Jeffrey Chu's romantic lighting.[18](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/summer_of_changsha) On aggregate measures, the film stands at 14% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 7 reviews and 5.7/10 on IMDb from 331 votes.[18](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/summer_of_changsha) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10199668/)
**Commercial performance.** The Chinese box office reached only about one million yuan, a figure Zu Feng said left him with peace of mind given the film's subject and tone.[5](https://ent.people.com.cn/n1/2019/1107/c1012-31441910.html) IMDb records a worldwide gross of $171,605.[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10199668/) The film was nominated for the Un Certain Regard Award and the Golden Camera at Cannes, for the Cairo Film Critics' Week at the [Cairo International Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/cairo-international-film-festival), and for the People's Choice Award at the Pingyao International Film Festival.[10](https://kcainfo.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/small-book-merge-low.pdf)
## References
1. [LIU YU TIAN (SUMMER OF CHANGSHA), Festival de Cannes](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/liu-yu-tian/)
2. [Cannes Market: Hong Kong and China buzz titles, Screen Daily](https://www.screendaily.com/features/cannes-market-hong-kong-and-china-buzz-titles/5139452.article)
3. [Summer of Changsha (2019), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10199668/)
4. [Liu Yu Tian (Summer of Changsha) as seen by Zu Feng, Festival de Cannes](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/2019/liu-yu-tian-summer-of-changsha-as-seen-by-zu-feng/)
5. [《六欲天》票房仅百万，祖峰说心里有底, 人民网](https://ent.people.com.cn/n1/2019/1107/c1012-31441910.html)
6. [Introduction to the Film by the Producer, Festival de Cannes press kit (PDF)](https://cdn.festival-cannes.com/media/uploads/2023/03/94773.pdf)
7. [SUMMER OF CHANGSHA, Istanbul Modern](https://www.istanbulmodern.org/en/film/summer-of-changsha)
8. ['Summer Of Changsha': Cannes Review, Screen Daily](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/summer-of-changsha-cannes-review/5139702.article)
9. [六欲天（2019年祖峰执导电影）, 百度百科](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E5%85%AD%E6%AC%B2%E5%A4%A9/22689294?fromModule=tashuo-article_bottom-lemma)
10. [SUMMER OF CHANGSHA, Kansas City festival catalogue (PDF)](https://kcainfo.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/small-book-merge-low.pdf)
11. [六欲天（2019年祖峰执导电影）, 百度百科](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E5%85%AD%E6%AC%B2%E5%A4%A9/22689294?fromModule=lemma_inlink)
12. [祖峰导演处女作《六欲天》上映, 人民网](https://media.people.com.cn/n1/2019/1104/c40606-31434878.html)
13. [Un été à Changsha press kit, Damned Films (PDF)](https://damned-distribution.squarespace.com/s/DP-Un-ete-a-Changsha.pdf)
14. [Cannes 2019: Summer of Changsha film review, South China Morning Post](https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3011416/cannes-2019-summer-changsha-film-review-crime-drama)
15. [Reviews of Summer of Changsha, Letterboxd](https://letterboxd.com/film/summer-of-changsha/reviews/)
16. [2019年电影公映许可证发放公示（国产故事片第九期）, 国家电影局](https://www.chinafilm.gov.cn/xxgk/gsxx/dygyxkz/201910/t20191021_96684.html)
17. [《六欲天》中的泛抑郁症群体, 南方周末](https://www.infzm.com/contents/163337?source=124&source_1=217215)
18. [Summer of Changsha, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/summer_of_changsha)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Crime, thriller, and mystery films (individual works) › 2015–2019 films › Crime drama and neo-noir films*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license