A Journey West tells a little-known tale about the Tang Monk, Tripitaka, before he embarks on his arduous journey to bring the sacred sutras from the west, and achieves deification after successfully negotiating Eight-One Tasks to prove his faith and resolve. As we see him for the first time, the Tang Monk is leading his three disciples into the city of Shache. No one would know that it is here that the boyishly innocent Tripitaka will meet his greatest challenge

A connection with other galaxies even before ??Star Wars?? came into being: a love story that is out of this world. Tang monk TRIPITAKA (Nicholas Tse) and his three disciples ? Monkey King SUN WUKONG (Chen Bo-Lin), Pig monk ZHU WUNEG (Kenny Kwan), and Sand monk SHA WUJING (Steven Cheung) arrive triumphantly to a hero??s welcome in Shache city. Little do they know that ahead of them lays Tripitaka??s most arduous challenge before he achieves deification??and it is a test that he and only he alone can overcome.

During their stay in the city, the three disciples are captured by the evil Tree Spirits. Tripitaka borrows the Golden Pole and tries to find a way to save them. He meets a young lizard imp MEIYAN (Charlene Choi) who is more than a visual match for Quasimodo: matted bushy hair, and the teeth of any dentist??s nightmare. Meiyan falls in love with Tripitaka at first site and devotes herself to trailing him, She even sets a love trap to ensnare him. Tripitaka unwittingly falls into falls into the trap and, in the process breaks the Heavenly Code.

The region is one full of monsters, strange beings and creatures of unknown origins and among them are (the beautiful PRINCESS XIAOSHA (Fan Bing Bing) and her army. On a passing journey to Earth, her path crosses Tripitaka??s and she vows her aid. Tripitaka decides to leave with the Princess.

Meiyan is heartbroken. She picks a fight with Princess Xiaoshan and, although she loses, she finally discovers her own identity as a galactic warrior, She eventually helps the Princess in defeating the enemy and rescues Tripitaka and his disciples.

After the battle, Meiyan surrenders to the Temple of Heaven for judgment. Torn between passion and righteousness, Tripitaka rebels against the heavens to rescue the gallows-bound Meiyan. A benevolent Buddha is moved and pardons the two, on condition that they embark on a journey to the west to accomplish the Eighty-One Tasks to redeem themselves as well as to save the world.

A Chinese classic handed down through the generations. ??Journey to the West?? ? featuring the central character of the Monkey King Sun Wukong, has been adopted into countless films and television series. Director Jeff Lau, who has brought audiences several inspired adaptations, has set himself a new challenge to break old boundaries and set new creative standards. Aided by international action director Cory Yuen, Japanese music maestro Joe Hisaishi, award-winning art director Bill Lui Chor-hung and costume designers William Chang, Bruce Yu and Lee Bik-kwan, as well as visual effects master Eddy Wong, Lau brings the world of Sun Wukong to a new level of fantasy and action.

??A Chinese Tall Story?? boasts a production budget of HK$100 million and features far-flung and exotic locations such as the unique Shennongjia, a Chinese national reserve in Hubei province classified as a 4A-state standard, where rolling vistas and the lush greenery gave added depth to Lau??s vision of the world of the Chinese