Why Study Chinese?

China is the most populous nation in the world, with 1.28 billion people.

Mandarin Chinese is spoken by 885 million speakers, making it the most widely spoken 1st language in the world.

In addition to the People's Republic of China and Taiwan, Mandarin Chinese is also widely spoken in Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, The Philippines, and Mongolia.

China is one of the world's oldest civilizations, over 5000 years old.

China has the 2nd largest economy in the world.

China is one of America's largest trading partners.

Many U.S. companies do business in China, including Motorola, Coca Cola, and Ford.

The 2008 Summer Olympics will be held in Beijing.