[3] On April 6, 1984, the State Council of the People's Republic of China passed the Identity Card Provisional Bill (中华人民共和国居民身份证试行条例), commencing the process of gradual introduction of personal identification, in the footsteps of many developed countries at the time.

Shan Xiurong (单秀荣), a Chinese Opera performer and soprano from Beijing, was the first person to receive a first-generation identity card in China.

[5] At that point, the Ministry of Public Security of the People's Republic of China created a unified authority responsible for the issuing and management of the ID cards.

However, as a result of technological development and certain techniques made available to the civilian population, the existing cards became relatively easier to counterfeit, opening the increasing threat of false identification.

According to the fourth clause of the Resident Identity Card Law, "based on the de facto situation within the organs of self-government within autonomous ethnic regions, the content of the resident identity card can, alongside Chinese characters, be decided to include the text of the ethnic group exercising regional autonomy or choice of a local generic text".

The following table shows the languages used on identity cards within minority regions: From October 1, 1999, the PRC State Council approved the establishment of a citizen identification number system, and currently consists of an 18-digit code.

The identity card is the only acceptable legal document used to obtain resident permits or driving licenses, open bank accounts, register for mobile phone numbers, apply for tertiary education and technical college for mainland Chinese citizens, and is one of the acceptable legal documents used to buy train tickets and pass through security checkpoints within domestic terminals at airports in mainland China.

[9] Police are required to inspect identification documents where: Polyester plastic film, which utilizes an anti-counterfeit laser logo.