An opening prologue set years before the events of the first film tells that Lord Shen, the scion of a peacock clan that rules Gongmen City in ancient China, seeks to harness fireworks as a weapon. After discovering from the court's goat Soothsayer that "a warrior of black-and-white" will defeat him if he does not change his ways, Shen leads an army of wolves to exterminate the panda population to avert the prophecy. Shen's parents are horrified at this atrocity and exile their son, who swears revenge.
The story is set in the Valley of Peace, a fictional land in ancient China inhabited by anthropomorphic animals. Po, a giant panda, is a kung fu fanatic who idolizes the Furious Five — Tigress, Monkey, Mantis, Viper, and Crane — a quintet of kung fu masters trained by the red panda Master Shifu. As he helps his goose father Mr. Ping in his noodle restaurant, Po is unable to pursue his dream of becoming a kung fu master himself.
Po reunites with his biological father and travels with him to a secret sanctuary of pandas where, to his surprise, he does not fit in. There he meets Mei Mei, an overly eager panda, who had been promised to Po through an arranged marriage when they were children. To make matters worse, an evil ancient spirit called Kai begins terrorizing China and stealing the powers of defeated kung fu masters. Now, in the face of incredible odds, Po must learn to train a village of clumsy, fun-loving pandas to become a band of Kung Fu Pandas.
The film is set in the Qing Dynasty during the 43rd year (1779) of the reign of the Qianlong Emperor. Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun-fat) is an accomplished Wudang swordsman. Long ago, his master was murdered by Jade Fox (Cheng Pei-pei), a woman who sought to learn Wudang skills. Mu Bai is also a good friend of Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh), a female warrior. Mu Bai and Shu Lien have developed feelings for each other, but they have never acknowledged or acted on them. Mu Bai, intending to give up his warrior life, asks Shu Lien to transport his sword, also referred to as the Green Destiny, to the city of Beijing, as a gift for their friend Sir Te (Sihung Lung). At Sir Te's estate, Shu Lien meets Jen (Zhang Ziyi), the daughter of Governor Yu (Li Fazeng), a visiting Manchu aristocrat. Jen, destined for an arranged marriage and yearning for adventure, seems envious of Shu Lien's warrior lifestyle.
In ancient China during the Warring States period, the nameless prefect of a small jurisdiction arrives at the Qin state's capital city to meet the king of Qin, who has survived an attempt on his life by the assassins Long Sky, Flying Snow, and Broken Sword. Because of the assassination attempt, no visitors are to approach the king within 100 paces. 'Nameless' claims that he has slain the three assassins and he displays their weapons before the king, who allows the former to sit closer to him and tell him his story.
South Boston teenager Jason Tripitikas (Michael Angarano) is a fan of martial arts films and he awakens from a dream of a battle between the Monkey King (Jet Li) and celestial soldiers in the clouds. He visits a pawn shop in Chinatown to buy Wuxia DVDs and discovers a golden staff. On his way home, Jason is harassed by some hooligans, whose leader Lupo attempts to use him to help them rob the shop-owner Hop. Hop tries to fight the thieves with the staff, but is shot and wounded by Lupo. He tells Jason to deliver the staff to its rightful owner and Jason flees with the staff. He is cornered on the rooftop by the hooligans and almost shot too, but he is pulled off the roof by the staff and falls backwards onto the asphalt.
In AD 859, as the Tang Dynasty declines, a number of rebel groups are established, the largest of which is the House of Flying Daggers, based in Fengtian. Its members steal from the rich and give to the poor, gaining the support of the locals. Two police officers, Leo (Andy Lau) and Jin (Takeshi Kaneshiro), are ordered to kill the leader of the group within ten days.
Golden flowers fill the imperial palace on the eve of Zhong Yang. The Emperor (Chow Yun-fat) returns from his campaign with his second son, Prince Jai (Jay Chou), in order to celebrate with his family.
Au crépuscule de la dynastie des Ming, la cour impériale est gangrenée par la corruption ainsi que par les tyrans qui règnent en maîtres sur la Terre… la guerre est imminent.
La situation est encore pire près de la frontière Nord-Ouest, où la famine sévit. Pour sauver les victimes de nouvelles souffrances, la sorcière Jade Raksha combat les soldats qui oppriment les pauvres gens. En représailles, le gouverneur Zhuo Zhonglian ordonne son arrestation ainsi que son exécution.
Jade et ses partisans deviennent alors des fugitifs, recherchés pour des crimes qu’ils n’ont pas commis…
In year 689 of the Tang Dynasty, Wu Zetian is about to be crowned the first Empress in China despite opposition from Tang officials. To mark this occasion, she has a colossal Buddha figure built overlooking her palace. However, an official inspecting the Buddha's progress mysteriously erupts into flames. Penal officer Pei Donglai and his superior investigate and interrogates the supervising builder, a man named Shatuo, who was formerly imprisoned after he took part in a rebellion eight years ago. They find nothing, however, and Pei's superior dies soon after in the same manner as the official.
Peace-keeping immortals living in clans inhabit a mythical mountain range called Zu, which exists between Heaven and Earth. A demon called Insomnia desires to rule Zu and the world below; it begins wiping out the various clans. In the Kunlun Mountains, Dawn sends away her apprentice, King Sky, because she believes that their emotional attachment hinders their progress. She gives him her weapon, the Moon Orb, to help him train; he is to return only after attaining a higher level. If she cannot be found, the Moon Orb will find her. Moments after they part, Insomnia attacks Dawn and disintegrates her.
La réputation des 4 policiers demeure, mais depuis le départ de Sans Coeur, des changements ont été opérés au sein de la Police Divine. Sang Froid, Poings de Fer et Voleur de Vie sauve Zhuge Zhengwo de la forteresse montagneuse d’An Yunshan, puis contre-attaquent avec les armés de l’Empereur et de Di. Mais An Yunshan arrive à absorber leurs pouvoirs et devient ainsi l’adversaire le plus puissant qu’ils n’aient jamais affronté.
Qingcheng, a starving girl, wanders around the land in search of food. She chances upon a boy, tricks him, steals a mantou from him, and runs away. She encounters the goddess Manshen and accepts an offer to enjoy a wealthy and luxurious life and become the most beautiful woman in the land. However, she has a price to pay: She will never find everlasting and true love. She becomes the King's concubine when she grows up.
In 1917 Republican China, Liu Jinxi and his wife Yu are an ordinary couple with two sons, Fangzheng and Xiaotian, living together in Liu Village, Yunnan. One day, two bandits enter the village and attempt to rob the general store. Liu happens to be in the shop, and he fights and kills the robbers when they turn violent. During an autopsy, the detective Xu Baijiu, who is sent to investigate the case, discovers that one of the dead bandits was Yan Dongsheng, who is among the government's ten most wanted fugitives. The local magistrate is pleased, and his fellow villagers regard Liu as a hero.
Cold Blood chances upon the scent of blood while Department Six and the Divine Constabulary are setting up camp in a foggy forest. Running ahead of the others, Cold Blood, Life Snatcher, Iron hands and Ji Yaohua arrive in front of a locked and seemingly abandoned house. In attempt to break the lock, Cold Blood is attacked by a cannon and barely escapes. He notices the person behind the cannon - Zhuge Zhengwo. Keeping the information to himself, the rest of Department Six and the Divine Constabulary rush into the house to discover the bloodshed of many and there is only one survivor, a man Zhuge Zhengwo identifies as Ouyang Da, someone whose face had disappeared off the pugilist world twelve years ago. Every one else have died of similar wounds, all caused by the same weapon that Cold Blood was attacked with. Zhuge Zhengwo shows keen interest in the incident and promptly asks Sheriff King to turn over the case to the Divine Constabulary. Sheriff King agrees, and Ji Yaohua along with the others in Department Six protest; there have been similar cases of massacres that they have been investigating, each with a death of a man that was supposed to have died twelve years ago. The deaths are all tied to Zhuge Zhengwo, as these men were part of the Gang of Twelve supposedly executed by him when they massacred Sheng Yayu's, now Heartless, family. Department Six strongly believe it is likely that Zhuge Zhengwo had lied about executing the Gang of Twelve and rose to fame, only to silence those that were supposed to have been dead for twelve years now so that his secret would not be found out. Sheriff King believes in his friend but instructs Department Six to continue investigate quietly.