Xiamen University was founded in 1921 by the well-known patriotic overseas Chinese leader Tan KahKee, the first university in China to be founded by an overseas Chinese. Xiamen University has a strong team of academic and administrative staff, making it possible to provide a full range of educational programmes. It is a key comprehensive university directly affiliated to the Ministry of Education of China, a first-class university with extensive international influence and is ranked in the top 16 of the over 2,000 universities and colleges in China. Xiamen University’s campuses lie on either side of Xiamen Bay, between the feet of green hills and the blue sea, and are recognized as one of the most beautiful campuses in the world. The university now has a total enrolment of over 40,000 full-time students, including 19,570 undergraduates, 17,490 master’s candidates, 2,919doctoral candidates and over 4,000 international students, and students from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.