A star is born: US expat in Chinese publicity film wows with his silky language skills
Terry Crossman, 62, has lived in China’s capital for 22 years and describes himself as a ‘typical Beijinger’
An American man who has spent the past 22 years living in Beijing has become a hit on Chinese social media after starring in a promotional video for the city’s public security volunteer scheme.
In the film, which has been widely circulated online, 62-year-old Terry Crossman is seen riding his electric bicycle through the alleyways of Xicheng district where he lives, chatting with locals in perfect Putonghua, before heading off to meet a Chinese woman, who is a member of the “Capital Public Security Volunteer” scheme.
The two of them are then seen walking the streets, dispensing help and advice to locals and foreigners alike. At one point, Crossman even gives a drink of water to a grateful Chinese tot.
“I don’t see myself as a foreigner,” Crossman says in the video. “I am a typical Beijinger.”
In an interview with Beijing Youth Daily, he said he started learning Chinese when he arrived in Taiwan as a teenager in 1973.