Six young male workers and two waitresses in a roadside restaurant experience a political awakening when they participate in the construction of a strategically important road for the Chinese army. They have different characters and come from different social backgrounds. Big Road is a representative work of the leftist film of the 1930s which promotes patriotic and socialist ideals. Since its release, the film and its added theme song have enjoyed lasting popularity. (Encyclopedia of Chinese Film, ed. Xiao Zhiwei, Zhang Yingjin)