The Chinese genome project was initiated in 1993 with the goal of contributing 1% to the Human Genome Program. The study of gene expression profiles with cDNA microarrays, and large-scale sequencing and analysis of 130928 expressed sequence tags (ESTs), allowed isolation and characterization of over 1000 novel full-length human cDNAs derived from human hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells, neuroendocrine tissues, liver, and cardiovascular cells. In addition, EST sequencing for model organisms, including rat, zebrafish, Schistosoma japonicum and rice was performed, aiming at identifying genes associated with physiological and/or pathological characteristics.