at Aug. 8,2021, the experiment at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) made a significant step toward ignition, achieving a yield of more than 1. 3 megajoules (MJ). This advancement puts researchers at the threshold of fusion ignition, an important goal of NIF, and opens access to a new experimental regime. The record-setting experiment was the culmination of years of research and development in lasers, optics, diagnostics, target fabrication, experimental design, and computer modeling and simulation. In this article, we have investigated the development of fusion ignition in NIF, to provide the reference for Chinese laser fusion research.