1885 in China

• Guangxu Emperor (11th year)
• Regent: Empress Dowager Cixi

• Viceroy of Zhili — Li Hongzhang
• Viceroy of Min-Zhe — Yang Changjun
• Viceroy of Huguang — Bian Baodi then Yulu
• Viceroy of Shaan-Gan — Tan Zhonglin
• Viceroy of Liangguang — Zhang Zhidong
• Viceroy of Yun-Gui — Cen Yuying
• Viceroy of Sichuan — Ding Baozhen
• Viceroy of Liangjiang — Zeng Guoquan

• Sino-French War
• January 3–4 - Battle of Núi Bop
• February 3–13 - Lạng Sơn Campaign
• February 14 - Battle of Shipu
• February 23 - Battle of Đồng Đăng
• March 1 - Battle of Zhenhai
• March 2 - Battle of Hòa Mộc
• March 23 - Battle of Phu Lam Tao
• March 24 - Battle of Bang Bo (Zhennan Pass)
• June 9 - Treaty of Tientsin (1885), Sino-French War ends

• October 30 - Song Zheyuan
• Su Zhaozheng

• September 5 – Zuo Zongtang, governor-general of Zhejiang and Fujian{{Cite news |last=Browning |first=Michael |date=April 16, 2002 |title=Who Was General Tso And Why Are We Eating His Chicken? |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/food/2002/04/17/who-was-general-tso-and-why-are-we-eating-his-chicken/cadd9756-cadf-4004-a671-5a24a7fd5d6d/ |access-date=2024-02-28 |work=The Washington Post}}{{Cite book |last=Bo |first=Zhiyue |title=The History of Modern China |date=2013 |publisher=Mason Crest Publishers |isbn=9781422221624 |pages=29}}

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{{Years in the Qing dynasty}}

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{{Year in Asia|1885}}

Category:Years of the 19th century in China