Xiamen University (Chinese: 厦门大学; pinyin: Xiàmén Dàxué), colloquially known as Xia Da (Chinese: 厦大) in Mandarin Chinese or Ha Tai (Chinese: 厦大; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Hā Tāi) in Xiamen dialect, is a public research university in Xiamen, Fujian, China. Established in 1921 by Tan Kah Kee, a member of the overseas Chinese diaspora, the university is perennially ranked as one of the top academic institutions in Southern China, with strengths in economics and management, fine arts, law, chemistry, journalism, communication, and mathematics.