Each August, thousands of Chinese peasants, mostly women, leave their home province of Sichuan and travel 3,000 kilometers by train to harvest cotton in the flat, arid northwestern region of Xinjiang. Filmmaker Ning Ying took the three-day journey, documenting this internal migration—a relatively new phenomenon in China—with grace and sensitivity. Cued by simple questions such as “What worries you most?” the workers respond with sincerity and emotion. Railroad of Hope offers a rare glimpse into the aspirations and anxieties of people in China’s heartland.