1. Chinese, is a group of different dialects of which Mandarin is one. It is the most widely spoken language on the planet. Today they are around 900 Million native speakers of Mandarin alone, add in the other dialects and you come close to 1 BILLION speakers. Compare this to Spanish, which is the next most widely spoken language in the world with around 400 million speakers. 2. You don’t have to learn Chinese characters to learn to speak Chinese. Pinyin is a method of writing Chinese in the roman alphabet. Hanyu pinyin spells the sound, and includes tone marks to help give the correct pronunciation. 3. Chinese literature. Although the dialects are not interchangeable the written language is shared between them all. Although you do not need to learn to read Chinese characters to speak the language, by doing so you open the door to an enormously diverse and rich literature. Some of the earliest recorded books were written in forms of Chinese. 4. As we all know now, the Chinese economy is the fastest growing economy in the world. . In the work environment even speaking a little Chinese will give you a competitive edge , if your company invests in China or is considering doing so. 5. Culture and language are linked and learning something of the Chinese language will help give an appreciation of the cultural heritage of China. 6. As China opens her borders for business with the West, it has never been easier for foreign visitors to travel the country, but to make the most of this opportunity for travel, it is vital to learn Chinese since very few people outside of major cities speak English. Mandarin is spoken throughout China. 7. China has now been firmly established as one of the worlds superpowers and with her huge population will undoubtedly be one of the worlds greatest economic powers in the near future.8. Food. Of course, you can eat in tourist restaurants and in hotels but for a true taste of China you need to try local eating houses for a culturally different and sensory eating experience.9. China will host this years Olympic Games. In 2008 many foreign visitors will descend on China to watch the Olympics. It is an ideal opportunity, if you are lucky enough to be going, to stand out from the crowd by being one of the few who has learnt Chinese.10. You can get started with a few words and phrases in Mandarin, enough to be polite without spending years in further education