How-to China: US expat in Beijing looks forward to the Winter Olympics

Editor's Note: The eyes of the world are turning to China. In this ongoing series How-to China, we tell stories about how Chinese approaches promote understanding, solve problems and improve the lives of people around the globe.

With the 2022 Winter Olympics approaching, Terry Crossman, who has lived in Beijing for over two decades, shared his own experience of winter sports and extended his best wishes to the Games.

Born and raised in New York, the 66-year-old American has lived in Beijing for 26 years.

Crossman was captivated by Chinese culture from childhood and has been a public security volunteer in Beijing's Xicheng district since 2017. He found it fun to be a Xicheng Dama, a nickname for public security volunteers who are usually elderly women, in the district.

His Chinese name is Gao Tianrui and he prefers to be called "Lao Gao" (In China, using Lao before the surname of a person indicates familiarity).

In an interview with China Daily, Crossman showed our reporters the area he hangs out and talked about his impressions of Beijing residents and his childhood experience of ice and snow sports.