Under the Hawthorn Tree / The Love of the Hawthorn Tree(山楂树之恋 Shan zha shu zhi lian)is a September 15, 2010 Movie directed by Yimou Zhang and produced by Yimou Zhang China.

Plot

Set during the end of China's Cultural Revolution in a small village in Yichang City, Hubei Province, a pure love unfolds between beautiful city girl Jing Qiu ( Dongyu Zhou ) and handsome young villager Lao San ( Shawn Dou ). Jing Qiu, who lived a difficult life due to her father being labelled a "right winger," is sent to the village at the age of 16 and meets Lao San, who has a promising future due to his father's high ranking military background. Even with the divide between their social backgrounds romance blooms between the young couple, but will their love ever become fulfilled?

The Love of the Hawthorn Tree (山楂树之恋) is a movie directed by the Chinese director Zhang Yimou (张艺谋). It was based on the novel by the same name and set during the Cultural Revolution. It is about the relationship that develops between a high school student, Jingqiu (静秋) and a gentleman, Laosan (老三), who met during a field study in rural China.

The two main characters fell in love at first sight. Director Zhang said this movie may help people under the influence of a money-driven society to pay attention to pure love and to seek the true meaning of love.

The movie came out in September in Mainland China and in November in Hong Kong,earning popularity in both regions. Dou Xiao(窦骁) who played Laoshan, gained the nickname "qingsheng" meaning "prince of lovers".

This was the first movie that the actors playing the main characters ever appeared in. Zhou Dongyu (周冬雨), who played Jingqiu, was only seventeen years old and never thought of becoming a actress. She was chosen among eight thousand candidates. Dou Xiao (窦骁) is a student of Beijing Film Academy, was also selected from several thousand candidates. He is fluent in English and Mandarin.

Fans are expecting Dou Xiao's next movie Qiuzhibaihua (秋之白华) which is filming now in China and expected to premiere on February 14, 2011. The movie is about the life and death of a Chinese revolutionary in the 1930s.