Hong Kong's Wong Kar-wai might be the most-represented director on the list of 100 Best Chinese Motion Pictures, with six films, but it is a 1948 classic by mainland filmmaker Fei Mu that has taken top spot.
Spring In A Small Town, which languished in the vaults of the China Film Archive until it was rediscovered in the early 1980s, was chosen for its representation of Chinese culture.
Fei moved to Hong Kong after making the film, based on a short story by Li Tianji, and died here in 1951.
The list, organised by the Hong Kong Film Awards Association with the support of the Hong Kong Film Critics Society, was compiled to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Chinese cinema.
The organisers invited 101 film industry professionals, Hong Kong critics and scholars to cast their votes.
Association chairman Manfred Wong said about 3,000 films were made between the first Chinese film, 1905's The Battle of Dingjunshan, and the 1930s.