Yellow Earth tells the story of a young peasant girl, Cuiqiao, who is sent by her father to collect folk songs in a war-torn rural area of Shaanxi Province. Captured by the local communist forces, her first contact with communism comes in the form of a communist soldier. The soldier quickly discovers that Cuiqiao knows nothing about the Revolution. He resolves to teach her by taking her to nearby Yan'an, the most sacred city of the Revolution.