The Rudiments of Mandarin is designed for foreign students who have no prior knowledge of the Chinese language. It introduces the learner to the Chinese phonetic system Hanyu Pinyin and authentic dialogues for everyday situations. The chapters focus on interesting themes like self-introduction, campus life, transportation, shopping, food, and travel. The drills and discussions equip the learner with useful grammar and key vocabulary, both of which will help them communicate in Chinese more efficiently. The authors have also made every effort to include Hong Kong-specific elements, such as local lexical items and culture notes, in each chapter. The Rudiments of Mandarin is unique among Chinese-language textbooks because it is specifically designed for learners who are studying and living in Hong Kong. This book is accompanied by downloadable mp3 files, which include audio recordings of the text, vocabulary, and listening exercises.