Shigu means 'stone drum', a name the town takes from a 1.5-meter wide carved rock in the shape of a drum. The carving commemorates ancient military victories of the one-time Naxi rulers of the region. Shigu is also very close to the 'first bend in the Yangtze', where China's mightiest river turns 180 degrees in the span of only a few hundred meters before heading east to the Pacific Ocean. The Shigu area is also fast becoming a global hotspot for rock climbing.