12-year-old Dre Parker and his mother Sherry move from Detroit to Beijing after getting a job transfer at a car factory. After a day in a park, Dre develops a crush on a young violinist, Meiying, who reciprocates his attention, but a 14-year old boy named Cheng, a rebellious kung fu prodigy whose family is close to Meiying's, attempts to keep them apart by beating Dre, and later bullies him at school. During an attack, the maintenance man Mr. Han comes to Dre's aid, revealing himself as a kung fu master.