Project 211

See also: Project 985 and Double First-Class Construction

Project 211 (Chinese: 211工程) was a higher education development and sponsorship scheme of the Chinese central government for preparing approximately 100 universities for the 21st century, initiated in November 1995. There were 115 universities and colleges selected to be part of this program.^[1][2][3][4]

Project 211

211工程
Map of universities of Project 211 in China
Predecessor	National Key Universities
Successor	Double First-Class Construction
Formation	1995; 30 years ago (1995)
Defunct	2014; 11 years ago (2014)
Region	China (115 public universities nationwide)

Project 211 and Project 985 were both initiated by the Jiang Zemin administration in 1990s. They were nullified in 2016 and replaced by the Double First-Class Construction in 2017, under the Xi Jinping general secretaryship.^[5][6]

Etymology

Project 211 was a project of developing comprehensive universities and colleges initiated in 1995 by the then National Education Commission of China, with the intent of raising the research standards of comprehensive universities and cultivating strategies for socio-economic development.^[7]

The name for the project comes from an abbreviation of the slogan "In preparation for the 21st century, successfully running 100 higher education institutions" (面向21世纪，办好100所高校). One hundred was the approximate number of participating universities.^[8]

History

In November 1995, with the approval of the State Council, the then State Planning Commission, the then State Education Commission, and the Ministry of Finance jointly issued the "Project 211 Overall Construction Plan" document. This document officially started Project 211.^[9]

In October 2015, the State Council of China published the "Overall Plan for Promoting the Construction of World First Class Universities and First Class Disciplines" (Double First-Class Construction), which made new arrangements for the development of higher education in China, replacing previous higher education projects.^[10]

On June 7, 2016, the Ministry of Education of China under Xi Jinping nullified the two projects by invalidating the fundamental documents "Measures for the Implementation and Management of Project 211 Construction" and "Opinions on the Continued Implementation of Project 985 Construction Projects."^[11][12][13]

On June 27, 2016, the Ministry of Education said in response to The Beijing News reporters’ questions that the two projects faced the issues such as lack of competition, redundant overlaps, and uneven distribution of resources.^[14] The ministry believed there was a need to amend the plan and strengthen the integration of resources.^[15]

List of Project-211 universities and colleges

Main article: List of universities in China

By 2008, China had some 116 public universities and colleges selected as part of Project 211.^[8]

Province/Municipality/Autonomous region	City	University
Beijing (26)	Beijing (26)	Beijing Foreign Studies University Beijing Forestry University Beijing Institute of Technology Beijing Jiaotong University Beijing Normal University Beihang University Beijing University of Chemical Technology Beijing University of Chinese Medicine Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications Beijing University of Technology Central Conservatory of Music Central University of Finance and Economics China Agricultural University China University of Geosciences (Beijing) China University of Petroleum (Beijing) China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing) China University of Political Science and Law Communication University of China Minzu University of China North China Electric Power University Peking Union Medical College Peking University Renmin University of China Tsinghua University University of International Business and Economics University of Science and Technology Beijing
Jiangsu (11)	Nanjing (8)	China Pharmaceutical University Hohai University Nanjing Aeronautics and Astronautics University Nanjing Agricultural University Nanjing Normal University Nanjing University Nanjing University of Science and Technology Southeast University
	Suzhou	Soochow University
	Wuxi	Jiangnan University
	Xuzhou	China University of Mining and Technology
Shanghai (10)	Shanghai (10)	Donghua University East China Normal University East China University of Science and Technology Fudan University Second Military Medical University Shanghai International Studies University Shanghai Jiao Tong University Shanghai University Shanghai University of Finance and Economics Tongji University
Shaanxi (8)	Xi'an (7)	Chang'an University Fourth Military Medical University Xi'an Jiaotong University Xidian University Shaanxi Normal University Northwest University Northwestern Polytechnical University
	Xianyang	Northwest A&F University
Hubei (7)	Wuhan (7)	China University of Geosciences (Wuhan) Wuhan University Huazhong University of Science and Technology Wuhan University of Technology Huazhong Agricultural University Central China Normal University Zhongnan University of Economics and Law
Sichuan (5)	Chengdu (4)	Sichuan University Southwest Jiaotong University Southwestern University of Finance and Economics University of Electronic Science and Technology of China
	Ya'an	Sichuan Agricultural University
Guangdong (4)	Guangzhou (4)	Jinan University South China Normal University South China University of Technology Sun Yat-sen University
Hunan (4)	Changsha (4)	Central South University Hunan Normal University Hunan University National University of Defense Technology
Heilongjiang (4)	Harbin (4)	Harbin Engineering University Harbin Institute of Technology Northeast Agricultural University Northeast Forestry University
Liaoning (4)	Shenyang (2)	Liaoning University Northeastern University
	Dalian (2)	Dalian Maritime University Dalian University of Technology
Tianjin (4)	Tianjin (4)	Hebei University of Technology Nankai University Tianjin Medical University Tianjin University
Anhui (3)	Hefei (3)	Anhui University Hefei University of Technology University of Science and Technology of China
Jilin (3)	Changchun (2)	Jilin University Northeast Normal University
	Yanji	Yanbian University
Shandong (3)	Qingdao (2)	Ocean University of China China University of Petroleum (Huadong)
	Jinan	Shandong University
Chongqing (2)	Chongqing (2)	Chongqing University Southwest University
Fujian (2)	Xiamen	Xiamen University
	Fuzhou	Fuzhou University
Xinjiang (2)	Shihezi	Shihezi University
	Ürümqi	Xinjiang University
Guizhou	Guiyang	Guizhou University
Gansu	Lanzhou	Lanzhou University
Hainan	Haikou	Hainan University
Henan	Zhengzhou	Zhengzhou University
Jiangxi	Nanchang	Nanchang University
Qinghai	Xining	Qinghai University
Shanxi	Taiyuan	Taiyuan University of Technology
Yunnan	Kunming	Yunnan University
Zhejiang	Hangzhou	Zhejiang University Hangzhou University[16]
Guangxi	Nanning	Guangxi University
Inner Mongolia	Hohhot	Inner Mongolia University
Ningxia	Yinchuan	Ningxia University
Tibet	Lhasa	Tibet University

See also

• China portal

• State Key Laboratories, a list of key laboratories with support from the central government of China
• Double First-Class Construction, a project of developing world-class universities by the central government of China
• C9 League, a inter-university group of nine universities in the China
• Project 985, a former project of developing 39 leading research universities in China
• Excellence League, an alliance of leading Chinese universities with strong backgrounds in engineering
• National Key Universities (China)