Pandas and poets. Adventurers and ape men. Soldiers and snow leopards. A mountain god reborn as four supernatural sisters. This cast of characters, literal and legendary, stars in the saga unfolding on the undulating stone stage of the Siguniang Mountains.

Planetary forces authored an extravagant geology that, in turn, scripted an epic spanning epochs in today's Aba Tibetan and Qiang prefecture, Sichuan province.

Every valley cradles a true tale. Every peak embraces a legend.

The range's very names reiterate the lore of this land. First is the ancient Gyalrong Tibetan name, Skula Rouda — which hails the god of life, birthdays and birthplace — and later, the lyrical transliteration to standard Chinese, Siguniang — which means "four sisters", a reference to its four premier peaks. This wasn't merely a reconsideration of names but a reincarnation of identity.

This penchant for personification extends across the vast range.