ABOUT ME

Hello, this is Charlie originally from Manchuria, China. Growing up in a land with mixed culture of Manchurian, Chinese, Mongolian and Korean and influenced by Japanese and Russian since the 19th century, I have been interested in different cultures in the world since childhood.

Thanks to my job as an engineer in a multinationals, I'm very fortunate to have been living in several amazing countries and cities in the world, they are 🇨🇳Beijing, 🇸🇪Stockholm, 🇦🇺Melbourne, 🇨🇱Santiago, 🇧🇷Sao Paulo, 🇲🇽Mexico City and several cities in Manchuria and Southern China. These precious experiences have given me the opportunity to understand people and culture from different parts of the planet and helped to shape my outlook of the world. Now I’m living in Beijing, for the second time. As the capital of Chinese and other ancient Northeastern Asian nations for 900 years, Beijing has lots of historical remains and stories for visitors to explore.

I’m interested in culture, history and art of different nations, seek peace by hiking in the mountain and forests. I like to taste different food, experience local customs and meet amazing, insightful and open-minded people worldwide who will teach me a lot about the world. If you are visiting Beijing or Melbourne (will be there few weeks every year) I would be happy to accompany you to walk around the city and have some food together if my time allows. And I also appreciate if some local CSer can show me your city and introduce some good food or coffee when I visit your city.

Tips before visiting China and Beijing

1.Language: English is taught from elementary school until college in China, but among the huge population in China, you may encounter difficulties in find fluent English speakers or signs in your trip, so prepare a translation app in your phone.

2.International roaming/Chinese SIM card: Prepare international roaming before your trip or buy a Chinese SIM card at the airports. China Mobile/China Unicom/China Telecom are the three most widely used telecommunication service provider in China. If you need a Chinese SIM card, the most efficient way is to buy one at the airport when you arrive in China. The staff in the airport service office can speak English.

3.VPN: Please be aware some apps such as facebook, whatsapp, youtube, google etc. can only be used via a VPN in China, so prepare a VPN in your phone before your trip. Wechat is the most widely used communication app in China.

4.Credit card: Visa, Mastercard are acceptable in shopping malls, hotels and restaurants, they can also used for Beijing Metro payment.

5.Digital payment: Cash are rarely used across China no matter for luxury hotels and stores or bus tickets or stuff sold by street vendors, you can still pay by cash but people may do not have changes for you. So being familiar with digital payment method (Alipay or Wechat) before your trip will make you feel much more convenient.You can find guidelines online how to register an account and add your card.

6.Public transportation in Beijing

1 )Two international airports
Beijing Capital International Airports locates in the northeast of the city and
Beijing Daxing International Airport locates in the south of the city

2 ) Seven key train stations
There are 7 main train stations in Beijing for regular trains and high-speed trains to different directions. You can buy train ticket online (recommended) or at the train station. Download the App “12306” and register your passport information and verify through email. Please be aware the verification procedure of foreign passport may take 3-5 working days.

3)29 Metro Lines
Beijing subway map：https://map.bjsubway.com/

7.Booking a ticket of tourist spot: As some tourist spots such as the Forbidden City, the National Museum are very popular among Chinese and overseas tourists, the tickets are always sold out quickly. So if you plan to visit some very popular tourist spot, better to book the ticket online in advance.

PHILOSOPHY

Do not treat the others what you would not have them do to you. ---- Analects of Confucius

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I'm keen on travelling around the world. Meeting a local couchsurfer always make a trip more impressive and meaningful.

There are many websites and apps can find a cheap accommodation in a second, the reason we are here is far beyond a free couch. And I would like to give a try.

Interests

• culture
• photography
• dining
• traveling
• music
• animation
• engineering
• geography
• history

Music, Movies, and Books

Into Criminal/Adventure/Suspense/Horror/Animation/scifi TV series or films. Documentary of Travel/Astronomy/Geography/Culture/East Asian History

You are welcome to recommend music and movies of your country to me.

KEY WORD: KAOLA

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Visited a remote town of Ghana and designed a solar power plant for the community.

Teach, Learn, Share

Language: Manderian, English

Travel tips: China especially Beijing and Manchuria, North Korea, Australia especially Melbourne, other my frequently visited cities such as São Paulo, Mexico City etc.

Food: Simple Chinese, Manchurian and Korean cuisine ( three most popular food in Manchuria )

Knowledge: Clean energy, climate changes and sustainable development.

I'm interested to learn local culture and customes, history .

What I Can Share with Hosts

Travel stories and tips. Food and drinks.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Cambodia, Chile, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Laos, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macao, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Mongolia, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Korea, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Russian Federation, Scotland, Slovakia, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Thailand, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Viet Nam, Åland Islands

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, Chile, China, Sweden