Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

In nineteenth century China, two girls named Snow Flower (Gianna Jun) and Lily (Li Bing Bing) are forever bonded together as sworn sisters. They are paired as ''laotong'' by a matchmaker who is also responsible for arranging their marriages. They are isolated by their families and communicate by writing in a secret sisterly language, ''Nü shu'' (a historical practice in China in that period) on a unique Chinese fan that Snow Flower possesses.