Ages of Ling Ling + Dabing

Ling Ling was supposed to have been born in 1972 according to the director's notes in the special features. If the movie was set around 2004 when it was released, the she would be about 32. The same would go for Dabing.

He doesn't seem to be that age at all. He seems like an older teen or young 20s. Ling Ling could be a little older, but not 32.

When Ling Ling is going to school, she has to be at least 6 or 7. They talk about Chou Enlai working through the night, and learning from the example of Leifeng. There is a portrait of Mao at the front of the class. Chou died in 1976 when Ling Ling would have been only 4. The cultural revolution seems to go on forever in this movie, instead of ending in 1976 when Ling Ling was 4.