KUALA LUMPUR, Feb. 22 -- China's Xiamen University held an opening ceremony at its Malaysian campus for the first batch of students on Monday, marking the official opening of the first overseas campus set up by a renowned Chinese university.

Some 180 freshmen of Xiamen University Malaysia (XMUM) will start a new chapter of the academic lives by choosing from the seven programs that were offered, i.e. New Energy Science and Engineering, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chinese Studies, Journalism, Accounting, Finance, and International Business.

Zhu Chongshi, president of Xiamen University, said XMUM eyes to be one of the top universities in Malaysia and in the region.

Xiamen University was founded by Malaysian Chinese business tycoon Tan Kah Kee in 1921. It is among the top university in China, ranking 37th in Asia and 275th globally in the "2016 Best Global Universities Ranking" published by U.S. News.