Starting with art

"I found a Mandarin book when I was 10," she said. "The characters in the book seemed to be flowers side by side. Since I love drawing flowers, I began to draw those characters. That started my romance with Chinese."

"Then I increasingly realized the language's importance in the economy and tourism," she said.

China has almost one-fifth of the world's population, so it's important to communicate with the Chinese people on an intimate level, she added. "China is also increasingly a rising power and is capable of navigating the business world. Speaking Chinese is a vital skill."

Her remarks resonated with a couple of parents and teachers who came to watch the performance. A mother of an 8-year-old girl, surnamed Zhang, said that she drove three hours from Chico, in northern California, so that her daughter could enjoy genuine Chinese culture.

Zhang, who came to the United States 20 years ago, said bilingual learning can help children's brain development.

Even more important, Zhang said, learning Chinese has helped her daughter connect to her extended family back in China.

"We go back to China every year. My daughter blends right in. It is very important for her future," Zhang said.

David P. Wong, assistant superintendent of the San Francisco Unified School District, also said Chinese learning was a gift given by Chinese-American parents to their children, and they can use it to learn more about the Chinese culture.

"With language programs and cultural programs working in conjunction with the Confucius Institute, they can have a better understanding of their roots. That builds a very strong relationship," he said. Doty and Hoffs' Chinese teacher, Gao Chen Qiumin, told Xinhua, "We have more students coming from white families and there is still a long candidate list waiting to be enrolled into our school.""I have taught Mandarin for more than 20 years and watched the number of students grow from 50 to more than 300 in my district," Gao added.