The shale gas production in the USA was not missed in China for which the issues of hydrocarbon export and development of own resources are always in the focus of attention of its leadership. Preliminary investigations conducted in China have revealed considerable reserves of shale gas. The great attention to this hydrocarbon resource was supported by the special decision of the Chinese authorities that in 2011 officially referred the shale gas to individual mineral resources. In 2011–2015, energetic efforts were made in China to organize the shale gas production in commercial scales, thus, to reduce its dependence on gas import from Central Asia and other world regions. © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016.