GESANG FLOWERS IN BLOOM

On the Tagong Grassland in Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan—3,700 meters above sea level—stands Xikang Welfare School, a little-known boarding school that offers free education to orphaned children.This documentary was self-funded by director Wang Ling, who returned to this remote highland region over the span of fourteen years to record the children’s most genuine and unembellished journeys as they grew up.

The documentary follows three protagonists who grew up at Xikang Welfare School, each tracing a very different path yet together reflecting the school’s two decades of change. Deng Xianjun, who once saw becoming a doctor as his only escape from poverty, finds himself struggling with the weight of reality—moving from job to job and eventually leaving home to make a living far away. Zeren Yingcuo, orphaned at a young age, rises to graduate school through sheer resilience and chooses to return to the school as a teacher, carrying forward the warmth that shaped her childhood. Meanwhile, Ma Haiqing—the eldest of the group and the only one who never entered college—chases his dream of becoming a singer, performing in bars night after night as he searches for direction amid the fleeting glow of applause. Their intertwined journeys reveal the complex terrain of education on the plateau, where ideals, aspirations, setbacks, and perseverance are woven tightly together.

Blending archival footage with present-day moments, the documentary revisits how many children first arrived not knowing how to bathe, use a toothbrush, or even say when their birthday was. It also shows how the teachers—working with limited resources on the plateau—became surrogate parents, guiding the children through basic daily life, emotional growth, and the first steps toward finding their place in the world. In its most intimate passages, the documentary lingers on the children at seven, at eighteen, and well into their twenties, offering viewers a long-term portrait of what it truly means to grow up.

Gesang Flowers in Bloom is not a documentary about suffering. It is a story of how education takes root in the most barren of landscapes, and how fragile dreams drift, endure, break, and rebuild themselves amid the uncertainties of real life. In Tibetan culture, the blooming of Gesang flowers is a symbol of happiness and quiet strength. On the windswept plateau, the children grow much like these blossoms—modest in appearance, yet remarkably resilient. Their stories give new weight to this symbol of blooming, reminding us that in the world’s most overlooked places, there are still people who rely on education, compassion, and steady care to brighten the path for the next generation.