DATONG follows the life and work of a controversial Chinese Communist Mayor GENG YANBO to tell the story about how he takes a radical reform to demolish 140,000 households and relocate half a million people to give way to restoration of Ancient relic walls in order to adopt a clean economic growth from tourism and culture, which he believes will do good to DA TONG citizen in the long term. With two years in the footsteps of GENG, along with the changing ideology and confrontations from the public, the film is trying to draw a looming shape of future of China.

厚街又名后街，是珠江口的一个小镇，距离省会广州 45公里，香港80公里。20世纪80年代初至今，来自台湾、香港的资本和中国内地的大量廉价劳动力使它从农业小镇迅速发展为一个劳动密集型的工业城镇。工厂里的工人是进城打工的农民，他们从中国内地最贫困地区来到广东的厚街镇。工厂附近的出租屋是农民们进入城市的第一个落脚点，也是他们远离故乡后在千里之处建起的另一个家。本片真实记录了这些在厚街打工农民鲜为人知的生活状况，它们成为中国城市化进程中不可忽视的重要组成部分。