Hey Blue Cat, I know you're interested in China so another one you may want to check out is the one Ganj mentioned-Beijing Bicycle. It's a pretty accurate depiction of life in a big city in modern China. A couple of other good ones are:

To Live- a great movie about lifes up's and downs. It follows one family from the mid-'40s or so to about the mid '70s. Banned in China because it depicts the ridiculousness of the Mao years.

Qui Ju- Kind of funny movie about one woman's quest for justice after her husband is kicked in the balls. Sorry, its a bad description of a good movie.

Postmen in the Mountains-Interesting father and son story about life in modern rural China.

Oh, when watching Xiu Xiu keep in mind that the time period for this was the mid '70's. A lot is different now.

Now I gotta go and find that City of God movie that everyone is talking about.