How Are Universities Classified In China?

Project 211

Launched in 1995, Project 211 was the first major national initiative to develop about 100 key universities and a number of leading disciplines for the 21st century. The name comes from the slogan "For the 21st century, to manage 100 universities well". In practice, the project eventually included 116 institutions. Between 1996 and 2000, approximately US$2.2 billion was allocated to these universities, making them the best‑funded in the country.

Project 985

Initiated in May 1998 (hence the name "985", from 1998/5), this project aimed to boost the development and global reputation of China's higher education system. It provided substantial funding from both central and local governments for infrastructure, international conferences, and talent recruitment. The nine founding members of Project 985 later formed the C9 League – often referred to as China's "Ivy League".

Double First Class University Plan

Announced in 2015 and officially launched in 2017, this plan is the current strategic framework for higher education, superseding both Project 211 and Project 985 (as confirmed by the Ministry of Education in 2019). The goal is to build a number of world‑class universities and first‑class disciplines by 2050. In the first round (2017), 42 universities were selected as "world‑class university" builders (36 in Category A and 6 in Category B), along with 95 universities for "first‑class discipline" development – totalling 137 institutions. In the second round (2022), the list expanded to 147 universities, and the distinction between university‑level and discipline‑level categories was removed; instead, a specific list of first‑class disciplines was published.

In short:

211 = the broad foundation

985 = the elite subset of 211

Double First‑Class = the evolved, inclusive, and performance‑based successor that builds on both while shifting focus from permanent institutional prestige to competitive excellence in disciplines.

Today, the Double First‑Class list covers all 39 former 985 universities, most former 211 universities, and a number of new entrants – making it the most relevant reference for students and researchers.

C9 League

The C9 League is considered the leading universities and so receive a larger amount of funding. Member organizations of the C9 league include

• Peking University

• Tsinghua University

• Fudan University

• Shanghai Jiao Tong University

• Harbin Institute of Technology

• University of Science and Technology of China

• Zhejiang University

• Nanjing University

• Xi’an Jiaotong University