Hello everyone, we are Keoni Chen and Bodie Chen, the vice president and president of Galaxy Arts Student Council. We are twins who have been learning the flute with Galaxy Arts Center since 2015. In 2019, we were the youngest (11 years old) in Galaxy Arts Center’s Arts Charity Tour to China (led by former Student Council president Patrick Liu), in which we raised over $2000 US dollars to help the underprivileged in schools such as the Jinan Xing Shen Special Children Care Center and the underserved elderly villagers. Galaxy Arts Center aimed to return to China every year. Unfortunately, after the first tour in 2019, we could not provide services in China due to Covid 19.

Flash forward to the present. Now, five years later, we had the wonderful opportunity to participate again and lead the 2024 Galaxy Arts Center Arts Charity Tour as the oldest members (17 years old). Due to our 2019 tour, we had the experience to lead our younger members (8 in total, 9-14 years of age) in providing services, entertainment, and experiencing Chinese history, heritage, and culture in 2024. This time, Galaxy Arts Center raised over $3000 US dollars (21000 RMB). More than half of the donations went to providing cooking oil, fresh whole chicken, and other foods for the 40 impoverished and autistic children in the Jinan Xing Shen Special Children Care Center. It was amazing to see them, after five years, remembering our services in 2019. It was also exciting to see how much both of us had grown over the years. This time, we also served the elderly Shandong villagers by providing them with 20-50 pound bags of rice and flour, cooking oil, bamboo mats, pillowcases, and electrical fans to give them an easier life.

Providing services aside, our Galaxy Arts Center Arts Charity Tour also visited the Shandong University of Arts, Beijing’s Central Conservatory of Music, and the Children’s Palace in Yantai, participating in collaborative performances. We exchanged performances with these schools of specialty art and music. Through their performances, we learned Chinese history and how professional Chinese art schools pass down their Chinese heritage from generation to generation through music and dance.

History, heritage, and culture don’t only come from music, however. Our Galaxy Arts Center Arts Charity Tour also visited many important cultural heritage sites, including the Sino-Japanese War Museum where we learned about gunboats, warships, cannons, and sea-bound weapons, and had the opportunity to walk inside a recreated submarine; the Shandong Museum where we learned about the history of Chinese people in the Neolithic ages and the tools they used; as well as the Forbidden City where we learned about the court life during the Ming and Song Dynasties. We also had an opportunity to climb Mount Tai by skylift. In the mountain areas, we learned about and experienced the significance of the various mountain deities in Chinese legends.
Aside from this, in 2019 and again this past summer, our Galaxy Arts Center Arts Charity Tour also went to the ancient Yangko village in Sanghe County. Their impression of Galaxy Arts was very positive, so much so that they placed a plaque on their wall as a token of gratitude for our services. In exchange, we participated in a collaborative performance with the Yangko village’s children and were taught how to play the traditional Yangko drums and other percussive instruments.

Overall, on both tours in 2019 and 2024, we, the Galaxy Arts Center, culturally exchanged our love of Chinese music and dance with our friends in China. We, Keoni Chen and Bodie Chen, once little sixth graders, now seniors in high school, hope to pass down the torch of Chinese culture to the younger students and friends in sharing the love of Chinese music and culture through generations to come. Thank you very much.

大家好，我們是陳世愔和陳世悦。分別是美國銀河藝術中心學生會的副主席和主席。我們是雙胞胎，從二零一五年開始跟美國銀河藝術中心學笛子。在二零一九年，我們是最年輕的團員（11 嵗）美國銀河藝術中心的中國藝術慈善之旅（由前學生會劉天舒領導）。我們籌集了超過兩千美元來幫助許多貧窮學校；其中像濟南星神特殊兒童關愛中心和其他的老年村民。但是很可惜，二零一九年美國銀河藝術中心巡迴演第一次巡迴演出後，因為新冠肺炎的關係，我們就無法到中國提供服務了。
時光快速到如今。五年之後，我們不僅有機會再一次參加美國銀河藝術中心中國藝術慈善之旅，而且這一次我們年紀變成最大的的成員（十七歲）帶領這一次的慈善之旅。有了二零一九年的巡演經驗，我們在二零二四年就帶領了年輕的會員（一共八名，九到十四歲），提供服務、娛樂、體驗中國歷史文化的經驗。我們用了一半以上的善款來幫助濟南星神特殊兒童關愛中心的四十名貧困自閉症兒童給他們提供食用油、新鮮全雞等等食品。我們看到他們對我們的二零一九年的服務，任然記憶猶新，會議深刻，而且我們都長大了不少了，這種感覺真是太棒了。我們還為山東老村民服務，為他們提供了二十到五十磅一袋的米麵、食用油、竹蓆枕套、電風扇等等用品，希望讓他們的生活過得更輕鬆一些。
除了義工服務意外，我們美國銀河藝術中心的中國行藝術慈善之旅也參觀了山東藝術大學、北京中央音樂學院、煙台少年宮，也參加了合作演出。我們與這些藝術、音樂專業學校進行了表演交流。透過他們的表演，我們了解了中國的歷史，以及專業的中國藝術學校如何透過音樂和舞蹈將中國傳統代代相傳。
歷史、遺產和文化不只是從音樂來的。我們的銀河藝術中心藝術慈善之旅也參觀了許多重要的文化遺產，包括甲午戰爭博物館，在那裡我們了解了砲艇、軍艦、大砲和海上武器，並有機會走進了一艘複製的潛艇；山東博物館，我們了解了中國新石器時代的歷史和他們使用的工具；還有紫禁城，在那裡我們了解了明宋時期的宮廷生活。我們還有機會搭乘空中纜車登上泰山。在山區，我們了解並體驗了中國傳說中各種山神的意義。
除此之外，我們美國銀河藝術中心的中國藝術慈善之旅在 2019 年和 2024 年到訪山東商河縣古秧歌村，他們對我們的到訪深表稱讚，還把我們美國銀河藝術中心的名牌鐫刻在村子外面的墻上，以表現對我們永久的感謝。我們與他們村子裏的孩子們合作表演各樣的歌曲表演包括舞蹈、傳統秧歌鼓、和各種打樂器等等表達我們回應他們對我們的感謝。
總而言之，我們美國銀河藝術中心在 2019 年和 2024 年透過文化方式與中國交流我們對中國音樂和舞蹈的熱愛、學了中國古代的歷史、和為有需要的人提供娛樂和社區的服務。我們，陳世愔和陳世悅，過去曾經是小學六年級的學生，現在成為高中十二年級的學生，希望將中華文化的火炬傳承下去給下一代的年輕學生和朋友，在這個藝術學校的家庭裏面繼續分享我們對中國音樂和文化的熱愛。謝謝大家。