In the heyday of communism, the Tie Xi district in northeastern China was a shining example for the rest of the country. This huge government-controlled factory site provided work for more than a million people and provided shelter for many families dreaming of economic progress. Nowadays, these industrial areas with vacant hangars and weather-beaten work platforms are just a shadow of their former glory.

This nine-hour masterpiece by Chinese filmmaker Wang Bing explores the inescapable decay of China’s biggest and oldest industrial area. In three sections entitled “Rust,” “Remnants” and “Rails,” Wang shows a Chinese society in transition, and the impact of a transformed economy on the hopes and dreams of the workers.

Long, slow shots follow the remaining workers as they go about their daily tasks, the railway tracks that connect the various sections of the site, and the families living in the desolate residential areas. The repetitive shots of mechanical activity—trains coupling and uncoupling, cranes loading and unloading—are the death twitches of an area that has no place in the new era.