Crosstalk actors Guo Donglin (L) and Li Jing perform during a Spring Festival tour by Chinese arts troupes in San Francisco Bay Area, the United States, on Feb 9, 2019. The Chinese Arts Troupes Spring Festival Tour in America started on Saturday. [Photo/Xinhua]

Many of the yesteryear songs triggered a bout of homesickness, said Yan He, one of the organizers of Silicon Valley Root-Seeking Camp, a non-profit group dedicated to help the younger generations of the U.S. overseas Chinese explore their home country.

"The performance rekindles a familiar feeling deep in my heart, and many of the second generation of overseas Chinese, mostly born in the United States, have only a limited knowledge about China and Chinese culture," she said.

"The event like Saturday's gala can have a subtle but invisible, persistent impact on the second-generation Chinese Americans in developing a sense of identity about the Chinese background rooted in the culture of the home country of their parents," Yan explained.

Yan Zhao, a newly-elected Chinese American council member of Saratoga city in Santa Clara County of Northern California, said she has lived in the United States for more than 30 years, but that it was still exciting to watch the high-quality performance by the Chinese artists.

"Culture is the best bridge to increase understanding and communication between peoples while it decreases hostility... For both China and the United States, culture matters in their communication," she said.