Since Outline of China’s national plan for medium and long-term education reform and development 2010-2020 proposed to “promote the characteristic development of regular senior middle schools”，governments，education authorities and schools at all levels have made joined efforts in implementing this policy and have achieved significant results. Currently，the systems for operating schools，the types of schools and the academic models are the three main areas for diversification efforts. In this regard，different places have made different choices，but one common strategy is to focus on developing schools with their own unique features. There is still a long way to go before China’s senior middle schools are no longer homogenous and each has its own unique characteristics. To achieve this goal，this paper proposes three principles for the top-level design of diversification efforts：diversification should be based on the fundamental task of education in China，which is to foster integrity and promote rounded development of people；it should be based on needs of social development；and it should be based on integration with science and technology.