Xiamen University was founded in 1921 by Tan Kah Kee, the well-known patriotic overseas Chinese leader. It was the first university in China founded by an overseas Chinese. At present it is the only university in any of five special economic zones and is one of China 's higher-level universities designated for the state key construction of the “211 Project” and the “985 Project”. Currently, Professor Zhu Chongshi is the President of the University and Professor Zhu Zhiwen is the Chairman of the University Council.

Over the past eighty–seven years, as the result of following the school motto: Pursue Excellence, Strive for Perfection , Xiamen University has accumulated rich experience in offering its educational programs and has presented its distinctive features in running the programs. Equipped with a strong team of faculty and staff, Xiamen University, which provides a fairly complete range of programs of education, has become a first-class comprehensive university in China with extensive international influence. Since its founding, Xiamen University has produced more than 150,000 undergraduates and graduates for the country and over 60 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) have studied or worked at Xiamen University.

Northeast Normal University is an institution of higher learning under the direct administration of the Ministry of Education, being selected as one of the universities given priority in construction in the "211 Project". The university, located in Changchun city, Jilin province, occupies an area of 1,500,000 square meters, including 800,000 square meters of the main campus and 700,000 square meters of the new campus.