Summarize:

Most people can do a split, but it takes a lot of stretching and strength training. Some experts recommend taking at least one month to train and prepare your body to do a split. Follow the stretching and strength training regimen outlined in this article. Do not attempt to do a split without any training or preparation. In addition to preparing your body, wearing the right clothes is important for doing the split. You'll want to wear loose-fitting clothes like sweatpants to help with your range of motion. It would also help to wear socks on a wooden or tile floor, so you can easily slide your feet out to the side. Just like with any stretching regimen, you can't attempt a Chinese split without first warming up your muscles. If you've been following a daily stretch and exercise regimen for several weeks to prepare for a split, perform your usual warm up regimen (about 15 to 20 minutes of physical activity) to make sure your muscles are ready for a split. After you warm up, you need to do some preliminary stretches. Stretch every major muscle group that's involved in doing the split before trying to do the actual split. Try to work through all of the stretches you've done in the previous weeks leading up to your Chinese split attempt. These are the muscle groups you will be using to do the actual split, so loosen your body the same way you've been training. After you've warmed up, you can start working on the split. It will probably take several attempts over days or weeks to do this split, so don't expect to get it your first time. Remember to stop at any point if you feel pain.  Stand with your feet greater than shoulder width apart. Bend down and put your hands on the ground. If you can't get your hands to the ground, you need to work on stretching more. Shift your weight to your heels and rotate your toes and knees so that they're facing up. Then gradually walk your feet out from under you. Keep your hands on the ground to maintain stability -- you don't want to go down too suddenly, or you could injure yourself. Stop and hold when you've reached your limit. Even if you don't fully complete the split, try to hold the position to get your body conditioned. It's very unlikely that you'll be able to to a full split right away. It's not unusual for people to take months to get it down properly, even when they stretch every day. Keep up your routine and you'll be able to loosen up your muscle enough to perform a full Chinese split.  Try to extend the duration of your splits each day.  Stay hydrated. Not drinking enough water can cause muscle cramps and may make you less flexible.  Reduce inflammation in your legs and hips to help increase flexibility. One way to do this is by taking Omega 3 fatty acid supplements. Once you've completed the necessary flexibility and strength training, and once you've worked your way up to being able to slowly do a split, you'll eventually be able to simply drop into a split the way entertainers do in movies and martial arts competitions.  Being able to drop into a split will take some time and work - most people need over a month of consistent training and stretching to be capable of dropping into a split.  You will need to develop a consistent stretching and strength-training regimen before attempting to drop into a split.
Know whether you're ready. Dress properly. Warm up. Do a stretching regimen. Work on the split gradually. Repeat the split routine as needed. Work up to doing a drop split.