The following notation is used:

• National (Direct): Directly administered by the Chinese Ministry of Education (MOE)
• National (Other): Administered by other ministries
• Ω ( National Key Universities): Universities with high regards from the MOE and the Chinese government
• Provincial: Public university administered by the province (or the autonomous region)
• Municipal: Public university administered by the municipality
• Private: Privately owned and funded university, or independent institution
• Mainland-HMT: Mainland China-Hong Kong or Macao or Taiwan joint venture university
• Sino-foreign: Sino-foreign joint venture university

The default list should follow the neutral order provided by MOE, namely the numerical order of identification codes.