Xiamen University (; Southern Min: Ē-mn̂g-toā-o̍h), colloquially known as Xia Da (; Southern Min: Hā-tāi), is a national public research university in Xiamen, Fujian, China. Founded in 1921 by Tan Kah Kee, a Chinese patriotic expatriate businessman in Singapore, the university has been perennially regarded as one of the top academic institutions in Southern China, with strengths in mathematics, chemistry, oceanography, economics, management, law, communication and political science. Xiamen University is designated as a Class A Double First Class University of the national Double First Class University Plan, also a part of the former Project 985 and Project 211. As of 2020, the university hosts over 40,000 students on its 4 campuses and 6 academic divisions. History Private period In 1919, Tan Kah Kee, a Chinese expatriate in Singapore, businessman, investor, and philanthropist, donated then 4 million dollars to endow Amoy University in the city of Amoy (former romanization of 'Xiamen' until 1970s). When the university was founded in 1921, there were no more than 20 faculty members and just 98 students. At the 1926 Sesquicentennial International Exposition in Philadelphia, United States, Amoy University was one of five institutions selected to participate in an exhibit on education in China, representing the country's higher education system. National university period In 1937, Tan transferred administration of the university to the Nationalist government, and the institution became a national university. In 1938, at the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War, the university was temporarily relocated to Changting in western Fujian to escape Japanese invasion of Chinese coastal regions. In 1946, after the war, the university moved back to Xiamen and resumed normal operations. In 1952, it was transformed into a comprehensive university embracing both arts and science. In 1963, it was designated as a key university in China. In 1995, Xiamen University was selected to participate in the 211 Project, a Chinese government's initiative to provide increased financial resources for the country's most promising universities. In 2000, the university was selected for the 985 Project, a national and local government initiative to provide funding for facilities construction and faculty hiring to bolster China's top universities. On January 25, 2013, the Ministry of Higher Education of Malaysia submitted an invitation letter to Xiamen University to establish a branch campus in Malaysia. On July 3, 2014, the foundation of Xiamen University Malaysia Campus was laid near Kuala Lumpur. On February 22, 2016, Malaysia Campus officially