This textbook sets out to teach the elementary speaker of Chinese useful words, phrases, and dialogues for visiting Mainland China. To do so, each lesson has the English translation, a copy each of the dialogue in traditional and simplified characters, and two transliterations: one in pinyin and the other in Yale. This enables the learner to follow along and get used to not only different writing systems but also different Romanisation methods. Also there are useful vocabulary lists, sentence drills, and cultural notes.

The most obvious flaw in this book is that it is decidedly dated, having been published first in 1983. Nevertheless, it still provides a useful role alongside a more modern textbook. ( )