Weblinks
UK Chinese Embassy
Official homepage of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China based in London, offering a range of up-to-date reports, information about visiting China and cultural events aimed at British visitors
USA Chinese Embassy
Official homepage of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China based in Washington DC, offering a range of up-to-date reports, information about visiting China and cultural events aimed at American visitors
BBC Languages – Chinese
Lots of tips on how to get started with Mandarin Chinese; free video and audio clips give you practice with pronunciation.
University of Texas at Austin – Chinese Take-in
Offers interactive listening comprehension exercises, multiple choice questions, and vocabulary lists for learners to hone their listening skills
Nciku English Chinese/Chinese English Dictionary
Useful online English-Chinese and Chinese-English dictionary that also provides conversation lessons for self-study; shows the animated stroke order of several hundred Chinese characters.
Livemocha
Provides free basic lessons to users who sign up and create a profile; users can also chat with Chinese people via webcam
Online Chinese tools
Provides a variety of useful information, such as dictionary, pinyin converter, and cultural knowledge
Zhongwen.com
Provides many useful links for learning Chinese, with a dictionary section, a reading section that includes Chinese classics and poetry, and a vocabulary learning section
ShuFa West – Chinese calligraphy resources
A good introduction to Chinese calligraphy; also provides links to other Mandarin learning sites
ShuFa West – tone drill
A simple and straightforward website, the primary function of which is to provide drills on tones of single-syllable and double-syllable sounds
Arch Chinese
Provides a free information about animated stroke order and character information of both traditional and simplified characters; also provides other services for which you need to be a member
Hanyu Pinyin for Mandarin Speakers
Gives basic pinyin information and exercises on tones and pronunciation
Pinyin Practice
Provides different types of self-quizzes for learners to listen to Chinese pronunciation and tones
MDBG Chinese-English Dictionary
Provides a fast translation service between English and Chinese; the translations it offers are accurate to a certain extent (when sentences are simple and straightforward)