This book is excellent for someone with already high level in Chinese, but wants to make it seem more natural and fluid. I read bits and pieces in preparation for a trip to China, so that I would not sound so stiff.The back says "From the edge of the silk road" to the great wall, but that is definitely not the case- the vocab is very much Beijing-y. I went to Luoyang, and everyone remarked on my use of (tm)X and said that I talked like a Beijing-er. They did seem entertained, though.