The drama unfolds around the attempts of Ah Peng, a Bai ethnic minority young lad in Yunnan province, to find his sweetheart, Gold Flower (Jin Hua). During his quest, he encounters four girls working in different jobs who all share the same surname of Jin, or Gold. Five Golden Flowers won best director and best actress at the Second Asian Film Festival in 1960. Jiang Qing found its apolitical, feel-good content abhorrent.