Vocational education appeared in China around 1870. Modern vocational schools were established in the Fujian and Jiangxi provinces. A system of vocational schools was set up in 1902. A number of senior vocational schools were set up between 1937 and 1945, but the foundation of vocational-technical education was very weak. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, technical and vocational education has undergone a continuous process of reforms, readjustment, and improvement coupled with intermittent twists and turns. To strengthen the supervision over educational work, the State Education Commission was established in June 1985 to replace the Ministry of Education. The administrative system of secondary vocational and technical schools consists of specialized secondary schools, workers' training schools, and senior middle vocational schools. Funds for higher vocational specialized schools come from state appropriations for institutions of higher education, whereas specialized secondary schools are run by the central or local governmental departments. (Appendixes include general facts about China, the text of major pieces of pertinent educational legislation, diagrams of the administrative structure of vocational-technical education and the series of school systems, tables on the numbers of students attending schools, a curriculum outline, and the names of executive officials involved in vocational-technical education.) (MN)