The first volume of the long-awaited revised edition of the popular Practical Chinese Reader series are finally available! This completely new edition (it will encompass six volumes in 70 lessons when completed) takes the student from an absolute beginner to an intermediate level, approximately 3 years of higher-level classroom instruction. The text follows the story of Ding Libo (the son of Gubo and Ding Yun from the first edition) and other international students as they live in China, learning about Chinese culture and society as they learn contemporary Mandarin. Emphasizing the basic skills of reading, writing (simplified characters), speaking, and listening, with supplementary exercises, many illustrations, charts, and in a larger 8 x 11 format.