Shoppers received quite a fright at a shopping mall in Beijing, when they saw these two women and their eccentric costumes.

In the video, the pair can be seen wearing what appears to be normal long dresses – but with long snake's tails stretching from behind. Both were cosplayingthe Green Snake and White Snake, demon-like characters from an ancient Chinese folklore called “Legend of the White Snake.”

The tale is centered on the star-crossed lovers, who are a human being named Xu Xian and Madame White (or White Snake), a serpentine demon. This story has been adapted multiple times into various forms of arts, such as movies, TV dramas, operas, and comics etc.

Green Snake serves as Madame White's sidekick in the tale but was employed as the protagonist in a 1993 Hong Kong film directed by Tsui Hark, where Maggie Cheung plays the Green Snake.

Although the Green Snake and White Snake are demons rather than human beings, they represent kindness and justice in Chinese culture.

(with input from AP)

(CGTN)