As the Human Genome Project experiences remarkable success and a flood of biological data is produced, bioinformatics becomes a very "hot" cross-disciplinary field, yet experienced bioinformaticians are urgently needed worldwide. This paper summarises the rapid development of bioinformatics education in China, especially related undergraduate courses and graduate programmes at some leading universities and research institutes. With further educational reform and international collaboration, China has new developmental potential in this field. (Contains 5 online resources, 1 figure, and 2 tables.)