Lauded as one of the four great Chinese folktales about love, the Legend of the White Snake was inscribed on China’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

This story takes place on a March day more than a thousand years ago dur ing the Song Dynasty. The waters of West Lake shimmered as they rippled. The mist waved softly as the willow branches swayed. For the sake of a gold hairpin that he plucked off the ground, a handsome young apprentice at an herbal medicine shop named Xu Xuan became acquainted with two young women, one dressed in white and the other in green – the White Maiden and Little Green.

The White Maiden, Bai Suzhen, was a snake spirit who had learned to as sume human form through a thousand years of Taoist practice. Capable of wielding powerful spells, this beauty in white was the embodiment of grace, nobility, and kindness. Her companion and servant was Little Green, another snake spirit in human form.

In an instant, Xu and the White Maid en fell in love on the Broken Bridge. As the couple enjoyed a boat ride around West Lake, a burst of spring rain fell down upon them. The White Maiden lent Xu her umbrella, which he gallantly returned. These simple kindnesses brought the couple closer together, and realizing how well they complemented one another, Xu and the White Maiden eventually became man and wife. They opened the Bao hetang Herbal Medicine Shop, tended to those in need, and lived as a happy, loving couple.

Fahai, a monk from Golden Hill Tem ple, believed this marriage between man and snake spirit went against the laws of heaven. He told Xu that his wife was a snake demon who presented herself as human. Not knowing who to believe, Xu took advantage of the Dragon Boat Festival to serve his wife realgar wine, a powerful drink meant to ward off poisonous creatures. No sooner had the White Maiden reverted to a white snake than Xu fell to the ground in shock and let out his last breath.

After the effects of the wine had dis sipated, the White Maiden was so brokenhearted that she dared to rob the deities of an elixir that eventually brought Xu back to life.

Though his plan had failed, Fahai was not yet ready to give up. Instead, he held Xu under house arrest at Golden Hill Temple. The White Maiden sum moned an army of sea creatures and whipped up terrifying waves to flood the temple. Xu was rescued, but his freedom came at a high cost – the deaths of untold innocent bystanders. The White Maiden had committed a great sin against the heaven. It was then that Fahai seized his chance to trap the White Maiden in his magic alms bowl and imprison her under the Thunder Peak Pagoda.

Distraught, Xu received the tonsure and became a Buddhist monk. Day or night, he could be found standing guard outside the Thunder Peak Pa goda. Since then, no matter how thick the misty rain, one lover has remained outside the pagoda, perfecting himself through Buddhist practice, while the other remains inside, reflecting on her mistakes.