Making himself at home

American Terry Crossman, 63, whose Chinese name is Gao Tianrui, is a safety volunteer in Beijing's Xicheng district

People who visit Shichahai in Beijing may see a someone who don't expect to see wearing a "red armband."

A tall foreigner, wearing a red armband and a red vest, can be seen at a volunteer kiosk in front of the Lotus Market every day.

He, 63, is Terry Crossman from the United States. His Chinese name is Gao Tianrui.

Gao is a safety volunteer at the Lotus Market in the Shichahai area of Xicheng district.

The majority of the volunteer team members are between the ages of 58 and 65 years old, and 70 percent of them are women.

Gao Tianrui has been living in Beijing for the past 23 years.

Fluent in Mandarin, Cantonese and English, he frequently helps tourists.

Gao, who speaks the Beijing dialect, also updates information boards about nearby attractions in English.

Gao, who now lives in a hutong, was first exposed to Chinese culture when he was 12 years old, and read his first classic, Tao Te Ching. When he was 13, he read the translated version of Zhuangzi.

Gao is still learning Chinese. And the American, who loves to eat Lanzhou beef noodles, uses a secondhand electric motorbike for transportation.

As for the future, Gao, who is optimistic and easygoing, says: "I like Beijing and I want to do something to help others.

"This is where I live, where my friends are. This is my home."

Terry Crossman directs tourists at the Lotus Market in the Shichahai area, Xicheng district, Beijing. Photos by Du Lianyi / China Daily

From left: Crossman is honored as one of the outstanding persons within Xicheng district in 2017; he likes getting his hair cut in a traditional local barbershop.

(China Daily European Weekly 05/25/2018 page4)