Book excerpt: A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. This Research Guide will be the first step in your journey with Chinese law. China grows more important every day from a global perspective. However, studying and conducting research on Chinese law can be extremely challenging, especially if you do not know Mandarin well. This book is intended as a compact but comprehensive research guide that would provide students (especially those who are preparing coursework or dissertations about Chinese law), researchers and legal practitioners with the necessary knowledge about how to conduct effective Chinese legal research.