Love, hate, nostalgia and struggle, audiences often experience a mixture of feelings in response to the beauty of the opera, "Farewell My Concubine." The love story is based on the legend of Xiang Yu – a warlord of the ancient Chu Kingdom – and his beloved consort Yu Ji. Xiang lost a battle for the throne, and Yu committed suicide with his sword. 

In 1921, renowned Peking Opera artist Mei Lanfang presented his version, making the story popular around the world. Now, Zhang Huoding performs the opera in a creative new way, especially with her "sword dance." "I describe Zhang Huoding's performances as 'An iron hand in a velvet glove.' She has her own characteristics," said Lyu Kunshan, a Peking Opera actor at China National Peking Opera Company.

Peking Opera is one of China's national treasures, and has a history of over 200 years. It combines singing, dancing, martial arts and acrobatics. After years of development, it was divided into four main roles. Sheng, Dan, Jing, and Chou, representing male, female, painted face, and clown characters. "I started to learn Peking Opera since I was 7-years-old. We need to practice every day. After 25 years of hard-work, I could have the chance to become the heroin of this piece," said Li Linxiao, a Peking Opera Actress at Jingju Theater Company of Beijing. 

Just a minute on the stage takes a decade of practice. And even the face paintings in Peking Opera are very detailed. "My make up is for a 'Dan Role.' It takes me about one or two hours to finish my face painting and another hour for my hairdo," said Li Linxiao. 

Although the art form has witnessed changes over its history, what hasn't changed is Chinese people's enthusiasm for it from generation to generation. With every seat taken in the theater, the tradition of Peking Opera lives on.