Upon returning to China in the summer of 1926, Sun Yu directed his first film, "A Romantic Swordsman", with the faltering Minxin Film Company. Beginning in the 1930s, Sun Yu began a collaboration with the leftist film studio, Lianhua, where he became one of the core group of "socially conscious" directors along with Cai Chusheng, Fei Mu, and others. While with Lianhua, Sun directed some of his most lasting works, including "Wild Rose" (1932), "Loving Blood of the Volcano" (1932), "Daybreak" (1933), "Little Toys" (1933), and "The Big Road" (1934).