An unnamed teenage boy from the city, sent to the Phoenix of the Sky Mountain for re-education because his parents are doctors categorized as class enemies. He possesses a talent for playing the violin and attempts to stay positive despite the harsh rural labor. Though generally passive and fearful of physical danger, he harbors a quiet resilience and a budding passion for reading and storytelling.

A charismatic and confident teenage boy sent for re-education because his father, a famous dentist, was branded a counter-revolutionary. He is a gifted storyteller who uses his charm and quick thinking to survive the hardships of rural life. He possesses a strong fear of heights but demonstrates fierce determination when pursuing what he desires.

The beautiful daughter of the local tailor who lives in a neighboring village on the mountain. Though initially lacking formal education, she possesses innate cleverness, a talent for sewing, and a strong curiosity about the outside world. She enjoys a degree of independence while her father travels for work and eagerly listens to the stories shared by the boys from the city.

A physically weak young man from the city, also undergoing re-education on the mountain. He lives in constant fear of the peasantry and desperately tries to appear compliant with the regime by overworking himself in the fields. He secretly hoards a locked suitcase of forbidden Western literature, making him a target for the other boys' curiosity.

The harsh local leader of the mountain village who oversees the re-education of the city youths. He commands the peasants, assigns brutal labor in the fields and coal mines, and aggressively enforces the rules of the Cultural Revolution. He is easily swayed by novelty, particularly mechanical objects and dramatic storytelling.

The only tailor on the mountain and the father of the Little Seamstress. He travels constantly between villages with his sewing machine, treated like royalty by the locals who vie for his services. He is talkative, proudly views himself as widely traveled, and dictates local fashion based on the stories he hears.

An impoverished old man living near the Thousand-Meter-Cliff who is renowned as a local singer. He lives in simple, lice-infested conditions and entertains guests with a three-stringed instrument and raunchy folk songs.

A dignified, wealthy poetess who is currently forbidden from publishing her work under the government regime. She uses her money and political connections to secure better conditions for her son, demonstrating the lingering privileges of the bourgeois class.

A perpetually tired doctor working in a rural medical center. He handles emergency room duties in addition to his specialty and finds himself bartering medical services for access to hidden literature.

An elderly Christian man who spent twenty years as a street sweeper as punishment for keeping a Latin Bible. He resides in the hospital near the end of his life, observing the struggles of the younger generation.