The CH340 chip is an USB to Serial Converter. It is used by a number of Arduino compatible boards, NodeMCU and Some USB to TLL Converters to provide USB connectivity, you may need to install a driver, to be able to detect your device to your PC.
Other Alternative to CH340 are CP2102 and FTDI. But the cost for these are more making your device costly. All three nearly get your work done.
Windows
(CH340 Datasheet and Software Chinese)
- Download the Windows CH340 Driver
- Unzip the file
- Run the installer from the folder that you unzipped.
- In the Arduino IDE when the CH340 is connected you will see a COM Port in the Tools > Serial Port menu, the COM number for your device may vary depending on your system.
Linux
Drivers are almost certainly built into your Linux kernel already and it will probably just work as soon as you plug it in. If not you can download the Linux CH340 Driver (but I’d recommend just upgrading your Linux install so that you get the “built in” one).