People's Hospital tells the story of a female doctor working in a small-town hospital in China from the eyes of her filmmaker daughter.

We meet Dr. Shen, our main character, first as a disillusioned doctor, disappointed in how dehumanizing her job has become. Tired of overwork, mistrust and even violence from patients, Shen eventually handed in her resignation, quitting a career she devoted her whole life to.

But the film takes a personal turn when Shen is diagnosed of breast cancer. What she lost as a doctor - the ability to humanize patients - she regained after becoming a patient herself. Will Shen change her mind and go back to work? When the systematic problems are so heavy that it's impossible to solve alone, what do individuals do?