Confucius Institute at Stellenbosch University is jointly established by Stellenbosch University and Xiamen University. Here we’d like to give you a brief introduction to the city of Xiamen, a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, China, beside the Taiwan Strait. Xiamen covers an area of 1,700.61 square kilometers (656.61 sq mi) with a population of 5,163,970 as of 2020 and estimated at 5.28 million as of 31 December 2021.  As part of the Opening Up Policy under Deng Xiaoping, Xiamen became one of China’s original four special economic zones opened to foreign investment and trade in the early 1980s.

Xiamen Island possessed a major international seaport. The port of Xiamen is a well-developed first-class trunk line port in the Asia-Pacific region. It is ranked the 8th-largest container port in China and ranks 17th in the world. It is the 4th port in China with the capacity to handle 6th-generation large container vessels. On 31 August 2010, Xiamen Port incorporated the neighboring port of Zhangzhou to form the largest port of China’s Southeast. Ever since the 12th century, Xiamen was also an important origin for many migrants to Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. The overseas Chinese used to support Xiamen’s educational and cultural institutions.

Xiamen is one of the top 70 cities in the world by scientific research as tracked by the Nature Index.  The city is home to several major universities, including Xiamen, one of China’s most prestigious universities as a member of the Project 985, Huaqiao, Jimei, Xiamen University of Technology and Xiamen Medical College.

Here is a video selected for you to learn more about this city: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZWAz1ycbr0