City guides · · 2 min read
Xiamen for international students: China's most beautiful campus city
A subtropical island city in Fujian with the country's most photographed university campus and strong links to Southeast Asia.
Quick answer
Xiamen University
Founded in 1921 by the overseas Chinese philanthropist Tan Kah Kee, XMU is the top-ranked university in Fujian and one of the strongest in the country for economics, finance, accounting, chemistry and oceanography. Its graduate employment in accounting and finance is exceptional.
Its Institute of Southeast Asian Studies was China's first area-studies institute for the region, and the university established China's first overseas campus, Xiamen University Malaysia, in 2013.
Costs
CNY 2,800–3,600 in a dormitory, CNY 1,600–3,000 for a shared flat. Food and transport are moderately priced; seafood is excellent and cheap.
Many international students are on full CSC or Confucius scholarships, which covers the dormitory and a stipend.
Climate, food and lifestyle
Xiamen has a subtropical monsoon climate: mild, dry winters at 12–20 °C and hot, humid summers at 28–35 °C with typhoon risk from July to September. The air is clean and the sea is close.
Fujian cuisine emphasises seafood and soups, and the city has a large Taiwanese and Southeast Asian cultural influence. Gulangyu island, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is a short ferry ride away.
Regional position
Xiamen is the closest major Chinese student city to Taiwan, China, and has direct flights and ferries across the strait. It also has one of China's largest overseas-Chinese investment communities and strong trade links with Southeast Asia.