Charting decades of achievements in learning

1949: China has 205 higher education institutions, with a gross enrollment rate of 0.26 percent. The total number of students enrolled was less than 120,000, including only 30,000 in engineering programs.

1977: The national college entrance examination, or gaokao, is restored, with 5.7 million candidates sitting the exam.

1978: The first group of 52 Chinese students since the founding of the People's Republic of China travels to the United States to study abroad.

1980: The Academic Degrees Regulations are passed after final review.

1983: The first 18 PhD graduates in China complete their studies.

1985: A notice to establish a reward system for scientific and technological progress is issued, recognizing individuals or groups in higher education institutions who made significant contributions to advancing science and technology.

1992: Project 211 is introduced, focusing on improving 100 key higher education institutions to prepare for the 21st century.

1995: Interim provisions on Sino-foreign cooperative education are released, stating that collaborative education is an important form of China's international education exchange.

1998: Project 985 is launched, providing support to selected domestic universities to develop into world-class and high-level universities.

1999: The expansion of university enrollment begins, signaling the transition of higher education into a phase of mass development.

2000: The notice on implementing higher education teaching reform in the new century is issued.

2007: The opinions on implementing the undergraduate teaching quality and teaching reform project for higher education institutions are issued.

2014: The opinions on deepening the reform of the examination and enrollment system are released, marking the largest reform of the gaokao system since its restoration in 1977.

2017: The measures for promoting world-class universities and disciplines are issued, which later replaced Project 211 and Project 985.

2018: China has 2,663 regular higher education institutions, with a total student enrollment of 38.33 million, becoming the largest higher education system in the world.

2019: The implementation plan for the reform of national vocational education is released.

2021: A new category of interdisciplinary studies is added to China's academic discipline classifications.

2022: The National Smart Education Platform is launched.

2023: China completes improvements to its employment and entrepreneurship service system for university graduates.

2024: The World Digital Education Conference is held in Shanghai.

Zhao Yimeng and Fang Biling