Xiamen University (XMU) started marine studies almost 100 years ago and is recognized as the cradle of China’s marine studies. Its Department of Oceanography, established in 1946, is the first of its kind in China, while its College of Ocean and Earth Sciences has developed into one of China’s best marine research institutions with the state key discipline in Marine Science. Among the faculty, there are two academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a number of experts involved in “Thousand Talents Plan”, China’s Recruitment Programme of Global Experts. The college also boasts excellent research platforms such as the State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, outstanding educational centers such as the National Experimental Center for Education, as well as an advanced general-purpose research vessel TKK (JIA GENG) equipped with state-of-the-art scientific instruments, which has been serving the interdisciplinary oceanographic cruises in international waters since 2016.