A Peking Opera costume exhibition at the China Millennium Monument in Beijing includes late Peking Opera master Zhou Xinfang's long olive-green robe (second from left). The exhibition will run through Feb 10. [PHOTO BY ZOU HONG/CHINA DAILY]

The robe was made by more than 200 workers and took months to finish.

In the 1950s, Zhou wore the robe while performing the classic Peking Opera, Xiao He Chasing Han Xin in the Moonlight (Xiao He Yue Xia Zhui Han Xin).

"After learning about the history of the robe, I was amazed. It's a work of art," says Chen.

Now, the robe is on display at the China Millennium Monument along with 30 other Peking Opera costumes. All are designed in four major colors-red, yellow, green and blue. The costumes that Chen collected over the past 30 years came from different parts of the country, including Beijing, Shanghai and Suzhou.

Chen says he watched performances of Peking Opera masters, such as Mei and Cheng, as a child. They helped the art form blossom at home and abroad.

"Though I couldn't understand the lyrics back then, I was enthralled by the martial arts, the music and the costumes."

Mei toured the United States. He staged one of the first Peking Opera performances in the West.

Chen, who was born in Shanghai and raised in Beijing, studied photography at Renmin University of China and graduated in 1983. He started collecting Peking Opera costumes in 1989 after being invited to edit a book on the subject. Chen has more than 300 costumes and stores them in his house in Beijing.