Following the life of the mayor and political developments within the city of Datong, The Chinese Mayor is a curious documentary that raises many questions about the Chinese political system and its interaction with citizens. The film highlights the restoration and reconstruction of a replica ancient Wall and a push for a “cultural renaissance.” The large scale demolition, reconstruction, and refacing of the entire city was the ambitious vision of mayor Geng Yanbo during his time in office and also saw the relocation of hundreds of thousands if not millions of Datong’s residents. One of the most shocking aspects to the film and the project was the lack of a chain of command in regards to decision making. On multiple occasions mayor Geng inspects basic construction sites and routinely corrects the design mistakes. He himself must make changes to simple things like the size of drainage pipes or the type of cement used in a foundation. This may be a ploy by the film to over emphasize his influence, but regardless of it’s purpose, the simple fact of this required micromanagement shows an inherent problem with the local government structures in China. Furthermore, Geng’s successor has made no effort to continue his project showing an even greater dissconnect.