Generally, there are two types of Chinese public educational policymaking: problem oriented and ideal oriented. The 985 Project policy clearly exhibits the characteristics of the latter. Usually, the goals of ideal-oriented policymaking are long-term and overarching, so they can play a role in propagating, directing, and encouraging people to accelerate society's development. But unexpected problems often arise during its implementation. This article attempts to describe and analyze the background, processes, and problems of the 985 Project policy. (Contains 2 notes.)