 East 22nd Street takes a glimpse into the lives of two people on a small back street in fast-changing urban China. After months in the city, construction worker Li Xiaobing decides to phone his wife back home in their little village in another province. The call doesn t turn out as he imagines it will. The other character is a new teacher just hired at the elementary school he graduated from. Teacher Fang Zhimin s first day in the classroom includes an unexpected lesson.