The white snake spirit
白素贞, also called
白娘子, takes human form and marries the young
许仙, whom she meets sharing an umbrella in the rain by the Broken Bridge on West Lake. The monk
法海 sees through her and, after she floods his temple on Jinshan to win her husband back, imprisons her under
雷峰塔. The real pagoda collapsed in 1924 and was rebuilt in 2002.
