Pinyin

Chinese writing dates back at least 3,500 years. Chinese writing is a combination of phonemes and pictographs. The largest Chinese dictionary contains more than 50,000 characters, but only about four thousand characters are needed for everyday use.
There are many dialects in the Chinese language. A dialect is a form of language used only in certain places or among certain groups. Chinese people may not understand each other when they speak, but all Chinese people can read and understand the same written characters.
In 1958, China adopted the Pinyin system of phonetic writing. The Pinyin system uses Roman letters more familiar to Americans. Since then, Americans have been encouraged to change their pronunciation and spelling of Chinese names. Most Americans referred to the Chinese capital as "Peking." (pe-KING) We now know it as "Beijing." (bay-ZHING)

This site is yet another great practice tool for Pinyin. I have found it very interesting how many different sites there are like this for English speaking people. I think that itself is very telling.

Pinyin Practice Page