Yu Jinwei (Little Bird) grows up in a primitive mountain village. Her fierce intellect allows her to escape her roots and gain access to the Chinese higher education system. Following her university career, she self-exiles to a northernThai market town where she is employed teaching Chinese in a private school. Seeking to meet Westerners, she frequents a popular guesthouse situated on the banks of the mighty Mekong river.

An itinerant American traveler and freelance writer is hanging out there, awaiting the arrival of the subjects of his next article. A disturbing incident at the restaurant brings this duo together, and they soon begin an unlikely companionship. From the Thai side of the Lao Freedom Bridge, and progressing along the river to the lovely World Heritage town of Luang Prabang, The China Girl is an amusing and poignant tale of cross-cultural confusion.