The cause of continuing education has gained significant strides in China after the advent of Reform and Opening Up, but it is still the weakest link in the current system of education. The "National Medium- and Long-Term Educational Reform and Development Guideline (2010-20)" (hereafter abbreviated as the "Guideline") has established the special position of continuing education in the overall setup of national education, its goals, and its developmental tasks. Targeting existing problems, the "Guideline" proposes institutional design with a multicomponent basic setup, effective management systems, and new development mechanisms, as well as a series of complementary reform measures, including "building "overpasses" for lifelong learning." (Contains 2 notes and 1 table.)