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People: Long-term resident volunteers to help tourists
With a red coat, cap and armband, 62-year-old Terry Crossman roams the Shichahai area in Beijing as a volunteer. Although he is from the United States, he is practically indistinguishable from his local Beijing buddies. His Chinese name is Gao Tianrui. Though he has lived in Beijing for 23 years, Crossman gained fame online last year after creating a video applying to become a Xicheng dama, a group in their 50s and 60s who roam the capital's Xicheng district acting as public security volunteers. He answers questions from domestic and overseas tourists nearly every day in the Lotus Market area. Fluent in Chinese, Cantonese and English, Crossman also helps translate information posted in the volunteer box.