How to spend the Chinese Lunar New Year with a special and unforgettable meaning? Chinese pianist Chen Jie's answer is: putting up a charity show for the kids with special needs in New York.
"As an educator myself, I feel the New York Center for Children is a charity close to my heart," Chen told Xinhua after staging a show with local artists at the Public Theater in Manhatton New York.
All proceeds from the performance will go to the organization that provides free support and services to families and children victim to abuse, she said.
"I work with kids and know how important it is for them to have a sense of well-being and to be loved and cared for," Chen said. "They need all of that in order to grow up to be healthy adults and achieve their dreams. I want to spread the awareness through my music."
Tuesday's show was a unique mixture of musicians who brought a blend of Chopin, Bernstein, Piazzolla and some Chinese classics to the audience.
Chen was joined by classical guitarist Jordan Dodson, an active soloist and chamber musician based in New York and Philadelphia, Damian Wayne, an aspiring opera singer, and Catherine Porter, who has performed from theater to live music performance to film and TV.
Chen started to play the piano when she was just three and half years old. She studied at both the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia as well as New York City's Mannes School of Music.
With her debut performance with the Philadelphia Orchestra alongside maestro Wolfgang Sawallisch, Chen has made a name for herself by playing Western music with an Eastern touch.
At the age of 26, she founded the Music Department at the University of Shanghai Science and Technology where she is currently the director.
