Classic of Mountains and Seas, also known as Shan Hai Jing, is a classic compendium of Chinese mythology.

Legendary gods, spirits and beasts thrive under the lens of Huanhuan, or Chen Xin, a female photographer from Chengdu who has attracted more than 1 million online fans.

"Grandma, what is a fire bird?"

"A bird that breathes fire. Keep away from it. It will make the sound of fire that burns everywhere it reaches."

When she was a child, Huanhuan listened to her grandmother's bedtime stories every night. As she listened to the stories from the Classic of Mountains and Seas, she felt afraid and curious. She became fascinated by them.

Huanhuan majored in fine arts in college. When her grandmother died of illness, Huanhuan revisited the Classic of Mountains and Seas, hoping to recapture the feeling of her grandmother.

In 2017 Huanhuan came up with the idea of recreating the Classic of Mountains and Seas through photography. The divine beast Cheng Huang was her first piece. To make a creature with horns on the back and a white fox tail, she deployed 3D printing technology.

"After completing the first, I thought I could do more to commemorate Grandma in this way," Huanhuan said.

She has completed 70 characters, 40 of them published, in the past four years.

Working on the series Huanhuan also learned how to plan, design costumes, apply makeup and process photos.

She excels at multi-tasking from silicone rubber modeling, through 3D printing to making props with a glue gun. She once made a pair of wings almost as tall as herself.

Huanhuan pursues excellence in her props for shooting and each rare beast has a special kit. It might takes an hour to capture the right shot, but a month to prepare for it.

Huanhuan also strives to shoot scenes of the living environment of rare beasts. She went to Xiling Snow Mountain to shoot the character of Shengyu and to Leshan to shoot Feiyi. She traveled thousands of miles to Dunhuang to shoot the nine-tailed fox. She was once caught in a flood and another time got lost in the desert while shooting.

Huanhuan will continue working on the Classic of Mountains and Seas and the Twenty-four Solar Terms. She is also considering animating and filming the Classic of Mountains and Seas with her friends and presenting it to a more diverse audience.

(Produced by Liu He, Han Xiaomeng, Meng Gaohan, Yang Luxin and Wei Jingqi)