Kwan Ming makes three friends on his journey from China to the New World. Once the men arrive, they all look for work but find nothing. When opportunities finally arise, Kwan Ming lets his friends have the best jobs: tailor, shoemaker and baker. Kwan takes a lowly position as helper to a mean store owner. His cruel boss makes three impossible demands: that Kwan Ming find him a woolen suit that never tears, boots that never wear out and bread that won't go stale. Kwan Ming's generosity of spirit pays off when his friends come to his aid.

The Friends of Kwan Ming is part of the NFB's Talespinners collection. Created for children aged five to nine, Talespinners uses vibrant animation to bring popular stories from a wide range of cultural communities to the screen.