"2 1 1 project", that is, 100 colleges and universities and a number of key discipline construction projects oriented to 2 1 century, was officially launched in 1995 with the approval of the State Council. "2 1 1 Project" is the largest and highest-level key construction work in the field of higher education initiated by the state since the founding of New China. This is an important measure taken by the China government to implement the strategy of "rejuvenating the country through science and education", and it is also an important decision made by the Chinese nation to develop higher education in the face of the domestic and international situation at the turn of the century.

Implementing the "985 Project" is an important decision made by People's Republic of China (PRC) Party and the State Council at the turn of the century.

1998 On May 4th, the president announced to the whole society on behalf of the Producers' Party of China, the people of China and the Central People's Government at the Peking University100th anniversary celebration meeting: "In order to realize modernization, China should have a number of first-class universities with world-class standards." 1999, the State Council approved the action plan of the Ministry of Education to revitalize education for the 2 1 century, and the "985 Project" officially started construction.

The first phase of "985 Project" was first implemented in Peking University and Tsinghua University. In 2004, according to the Action Plan for Revitalizing Education from 2003 to 2007, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance issued the Opinions of the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance on Continuing to Implement the "985 Project" and started the second phase of the "985 Project".