Peking Opera costumes are called Xingtou or, more popularly, Xifu in Chinese. The origins of Peking Opera costumes can be traced back to the mid-14th century, when operatic precursors first began to experiment with large, ornate articles of clothing.

As each dynasty in Chinese history had its own unique operatic costume, the number of different costumes was too great for performers to master. Hence artists and costume designers and makers worked together to create costumes which would be unwieldy on the stage and would be acceptable no matter when or where the action was supposed to take place. What's more, the stage images of some well-known historical figures, such as Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and Zhuge Liang, were already fixed in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

Lavish costumes include:

1. Toukui, or opera headdress: crown, helmet, hat and scarf

2. Costume (about 20 major kinds): the ceremonial robe, or Mang; the informal robe, or Pei; and the armor, or Kao, for soldiers

3. Opera shoes and boots, or Xue in Chinese

Audiences can distinguish a character's sex and status at the first glance by the type of headdress, robes, shoes and baldrics associated with the role.