{"id":699,"date":"2023-10-24T03:58:53","date_gmt":"2023-10-23T19:58:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/2023\/10\/24\/the-american-who-wantsto-be-chinese\/"},"modified":"2024-06-06T01:29:59","modified_gmt":"2024-06-05T17:29:59","slug":"the-american-who-wantsto-be-chinese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/the-american-who-wantsto-be-chinese\/","title":{"rendered":"The American Who WantsTo Be Chinese"},"content":{"rendered":"<blockquote><p>Wearing his bright red armband and speaking fluent Mandarin, from a distance 62-year-old Gao Tianrui could be taken for any regular Chinese man. But on closer inspection, things are not quite what they seem: Gao&#8217;s real name is Terry and he is American.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Wearing his bright red armband and speaking fluent Mandarin, from a distance 62-year-old Gao Tianrui could be taken for any regular Chinese man. But on closer inspection, things are not quite what they seem: Gao&#8217;s real name is Terry and he is American.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_73 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-5'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/the-american-who-wantsto-be-chinese\/#Photo_Newscn\" title=\"Photo:News.cn\">Photo:News.cn<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-5'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/the-american-who-wantsto-be-chinese\/#Terry_Crossman_became_a_hit_on_Chinese_social_media_after_appearing_in_a_promotional_video_for_a_volunteer_scheme_in_Beijing_Photo_Newscn\" title=\"Terry Crossman became a hit on Chinese social media after appearing in a promotional video for a volunteer scheme in Beijing. &nbsp;Photo:News.cn\">Terry Crossman became a hit on Chinese social media after appearing in a promotional video for a volunteer scheme in Beijing. &nbsp;Photo:News.cn<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-5'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/the-american-who-wantsto-be-chinese\/#Photo_Peoplecn\" title=\"Photo:People.cn\">Photo:People.cn<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-5'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/the-american-who-wantsto-be-chinese\/#Photo_Peoplecn-2\" title=\"Photo:People.cn\">Photo:People.cn<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-5'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/the-american-who-wantsto-be-chinese\/#Photo_Newscn-2\" title=\"Photo:News.cn\">Photo:News.cn<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-5'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/the-american-who-wantsto-be-chinese\/#Photo_Peoplecn-3\" title=\"Photo:People.cn\">Photo:People.cn<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-5'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/the-american-who-wantsto-be-chinese\/#Photo_Peoplecn-4\" title=\"Photo:People.cn\">Photo:People.cn<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-5'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/the-american-who-wantsto-be-chinese\/#Photo_Newscn-3\" title=\"Photo:News.cn\">Photo:News.cn<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h5><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Photo_Newscn\"><\/span> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"1.jpg\" style=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/media.hiredchina.com\/FsUUD4qq7Rq_zmtr50a0k0ZPNQT7?imageView2\/0\/format\/webp\/q\/75\" width=\"640\" height=\"426\" title=\"\">Photo:News.cn<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h5>\n<hr>\n<p>Having lived in Beijing for more than 20 years, Terry Crossman has finally fulfilled his Chinese dream: becoming a public security volunteer. Life as a Xicheng Dama (elderly woman of Xicheng) has even made him an online celebrity.<\/p>\n<p>Xicheng Dama are volunteers, usually women in late middle-age, who roam the streets of downtown Beijing&#8217;s Xicheng district. And now Crossman has joined their club.<\/p>\n<p>In video footage that recently went viral, Crossman said that he initially saw the dama as busybodies, but his mind changed once he was on the inside.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Gradually I saw that it is a good thing for retired seniors to come out and help others,&#8221; he says.<\/p>\n<h5><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Terry_Crossman_became_a_hit_on_Chinese_social_media_after_appearing_in_a_promotional_video_for_a_volunteer_scheme_in_Beijing_Photo_Newscn\"><\/span><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"2.jpg\" style=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/media.hiredchina.com\/FsjdOT2gh6irqLynVeZfYMuzdyL0?imageView2\/0\/format\/webp\/q\/75\" width=\"640\" height=\"426\" title=\"\">Terry Crossman became a hit on Chinese social media after appearing in a promotional video for a volunteer scheme in Beijing. &nbsp;Photo:News.cn<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h5>\n<hr>\n<p>In the footage, he is seen giving tourists directions, getting water for a baby and even helping a neighbor sell yogurt.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I like helping others,&#8221; he says. &#8220;I live in the hutong and my neighbors and I usually help each other &#8230; This is where I live, where my friends are and where I call home.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Crossman became interested in <a target=\"_blank\" class=\"inside_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/tag\/chinese-culture\/\" title=\"View all posts in Chinese culture\" >Chinese culture<\/a> as a teenager when he read the &#8220;Tao De Ching&#8221; by Laozi, and self studied the &#8220;I Ching.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>At 18, he took a cargo ship to Taiwan to learn Chinese. On the ship the captain suggested that he should have a Chinese name.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;He named me Gao Tianrui, based on the pronunciation of my English name,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p>After Taiwan he worked in several places, including New York, Singapore and a 12 year stint in Hong Kong.<\/p>\n<p>Crossman first came to the Chinese mainland for a period in 1981, when he went to Shanghai and Suzhou in eastern Jiangsu Province.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Wherever I went, I had at least 30 people following me, asking about Hong Kong, how much I earned and how I felt about the victory of the Chinese women&#8217;s volleyball team,&#8221; he says. In 1981, the Chinese women&#8217;s volleyball team won the world championship for the first time.<\/p>\n<h5><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Photo_Peoplecn\"><\/span><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"3.jpg\" style=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/media.hiredchina.com\/FiL0T3bPonoypvcPRY-3iHaZ3ZE-?imageView2\/0\/format\/webp\/q\/75\" width=\"589\" height=\"391.685\" title=\"\">Photo:People.cn<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h5>\n<hr>\n<p>His first visit to Beijing was six years later on business.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;There were few cars and lots of bicycles on the road, and many people were wearing the Chinese tunic suit.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Crossman and his family moved to Beijing permanently in 1997, when the traffic was heavier and city busier.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;There were only two subway lines, with no air-conditioning,&#8221; he says.<\/p>\n<p>Since then he has continually worked and lived in Beijing, and has gone through most of the ups and downs of a regular Beijinger.<\/p>\n<p>In 2003 during the outbreak of SARs many people fled the city, but he was not worried.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;With empty roads, the traffic was better,&#8221; he says.<\/p>\n<p>Despite feeling like a local of the city, he was not even able to get a ticket to attend the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, which annoyed him.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I am a Beijinger!&#8221; he says.<\/p>\n<h5><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Photo_Peoplecn-2\"><\/span><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"4.jpg\" style=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/media.hiredchina.com\/FhNm2sxb1ShbovwGQ5lfVSKdHpYO?imageView2\/0\/format\/webp\/q\/75\" width=\"589\" height=\"387.2675\" title=\"\">Photo:People.cn<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h5>\n<hr>\n<p>His parents separated when he was young, and they moved to many different places in America, so he never felt like he had a regular home there.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I had no hometown in the United States,&#8221; he says. &#8220;Your home is where your things are. In this sense, Beijing is my home.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Crossman can make traditional Beijing bean-paste noodles, and when he goes to a restaurant, he orders dumplings, mashed eggplant, and fermented bean curd, a traditional Beijing dish.<\/p>\n<p>He can often be found chatting with the locals, especially taxi drivers.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I am more familiar with the life of taxi drivers than most Beijingers,&#8221; he says, proudly. &#8220;When I see their license number, I can tell how many years they have worked.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>With the taxi drivers, he cannot resist talking about politics, sport and the economy.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;They are so knowledgeable,&#8221; he says. &#8220;I learned many Chinese NBA words from them.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h5><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Photo_Newscn-2\"><\/span><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"5.jpg\" style=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/media.hiredchina.com\/FlPWay5AAyS5ECpKHbVr72lNYWpt?imageView2\/0\/format\/webp\/q\/75\" width=\"589\" height=\"391.685\" title=\"\">Photo:News.cn<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h5>\n<hr>\n<p>During his leisure time, Crossman teaches local people English. Currently he is helping staff at a Starbucks near his home, telling them how to say useful words such as &#8220;set meal&#8221; and &#8220;discount.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Crossman met Liu Xiaoxia in March. Liu is in charge of a volunteer organization named Lanlifang (Blue Cube) and helped Crossman get into volunteering.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I was afraid of foreigners in the past because some of them had a bias against China,&#8221; Liu says. &#8220;Lao Gao was different. He is warm-hearted and jovial.&#8221; She calls Crossman Lao Gao, his Chinese nickname.<\/p>\n<h5><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Photo_Peoplecn-3\"><\/span><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"6.jpg\" style=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/media.hiredchina.com\/FhJzfUTxkYnw4t6n6W4N_CFsKpnD?imageView2\/0\/format\/webp\/q\/75\" width=\"589\" height=\"391.685\" title=\"\">Photo:People.cn<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h5>\n<hr>\n<p>Liu was making a video to promote her organization, and invited Crossman to join in. He agreed, gladly.<\/p>\n<p>From then on, Crossman decided to become a volunteer.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;He asked me to give him a red armband,&#8221; Liu says. The armband is the symbol of the volunteers, and Crossman is very proud of his.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;If I become a volunteer, I can make more friends,&#8221; he says. &#8220;I feel special with the armband.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h5><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Photo_Peoplecn-4\"><\/span><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"7.jpg\" style=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/media.hiredchina.com\/FlArIyo1zH9R9PjpqmYb3lWanbzn?imageView2\/0\/format\/webp\/q\/75\" width=\"589\" height=\"396.1025\" title=\"\">Photo:People.cn<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h5>\n<hr>\n<p>However, the seemingly carefree Crossman had one big problem: his visa expired and his company no longer had an office in Beijing. He could no longer get a work visa.<\/p>\n<p>To solve the problem, Crossman applied for a student visa while enrolling himself in a Chinese language course. But the visa will expire in September, and he is thinking about what to do.<\/p>\n<p>One thing is for sure: Crossman does not want to leave Beijing.<\/p>\n<p>When Crossman first came to Beijing there were just two subway lines, by the end of 2016 the city was home to 18 subway lines with 288 stations.<\/p>\n<p>So, does he like the new Beijing or the old one? Crossman finds it hard to tell.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;In different periods I had different lives: married life, life with the children and life alone,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Now I just enjoy living here.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h5><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Photo_Newscn-3\"><\/span><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"88.jpg\" style=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/media.hiredchina.com\/Fk1kdUbryuLd09uIaNErNlxo0IhT?imageView2\/0\/format\/webp\/q\/75\" width=\"640\" height=\"426\" title=\"\">Photo:News.cn<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h5>\n<hr>\n<p>Internet users were upset by his predicament.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think we should issue green cards to foreigners who have contributed to our country,\u201d said one of the most popular comments on Weibo, China\u2019s version of Twitter.<\/p>\n<p>Others said they were impressed with Crossman\u2019s language skills and hoped the government would help him to stay.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>Video: <br \/><\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><b><span style=\"color: rgb(65, 140, 175);\"><a href=\"https:\/\/v.qq.com\/x\/page\/s05430mhqhs.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/v.qq.com\/x\/page\/s05430mhqhs.html<\/a><\/span><br \/><\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><b><a href=\"https:\/\/v.qq.com\/x\/page\/w0540lhs0b7.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/v.qq.com\/x\/page\/w0540lhs0b7.html<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n<hr>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"GIC.jpg\" style=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/media.hiredchina.com\/FlXXlKXBxtykYAuKbjvAxKMwIbVH?imageView2\/0\/format\/webp\/q\/75\" width=\"500\" height=\"543.2937181663837\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Wearing his bright red armband and speaking fluent Mandarin, from a distance 62-year-old Gao Tianrui could be taken for any regular Chinese man. But on closer inspection, things are not &#8230;","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10003,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[60,386,306,34,27,674],"class_list":["post-699","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-china","tag-chinese-culture","tag-hiredchina","tag-jobs-in-china","tag-news","tag-the-american-who-wantsto-be-chinese"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/699","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=699"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/699\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10004,"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/699\/revisions\/10004"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10003"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}