In September 2025, Zheng Zixin pulled his suitcase through the East Gate of Xiamen University Malaysia (XMUM) once again.

B1 Building, Furong Lake, two canteens - he hardly needed to think. It was the same route he had walked nine years ago when he graduated as an undergraduate.

This time, however, he was returning not as a student, but as a lecturer.

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From joining XMUM as one of its first batch of China students, to pursuing postgraduate studies and earning a PhD, and finally returning to teach at his alma mater, Zheng Zixin spent nine years completing a journey that, in his own words, "never felt particularly difficult."

Born and raised in Changtai, Zhangzhou, Zheng Zixin filled out his university application with a simple mindset: he trusted Xiamen University, and he wanted to see a world beyond China. XMUM soon became his first choice.

Thus, in September 2016, Zheng Zixin arrived at XMUM as part of its first group of China students. It was late at night when he reached campus, which was still under development. Yet what stayed with him was not the darkness, but the warm welcome from local students, who greeted them with cheers, helped them settle into their hostels, and took them grocery shopping.

"At that moment, all my anxiety disappeared," he recalled.

Back then, teaching, dining, sports activities, and even staff offices were all located in a single building. The campus carried a strong sense of pioneering. Looking back, Zheng Zixin believes it was precisely this "from-scratch" phase - growing alongside a newly built campus - that gave students like him a rare sense of participation and belonging.

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Zheng Zixin joined XMUM as its first batch of China students. Photo / He Sheng

Like many students in the Department of Chinese Studies, Zheng Zixin initially chose the programme out of a love for literature. As his studies progressed, however, he found himself increasingly drawn to linguistics.

With a background in science and programming developed prior to university, he became fascinated by the internal logic and structure of language. In his first year, he noticed subtle differences between the Minnan dialect spoken in his hometown and those used in surrounding areas. Encouraged by his lecturers, he conducted his first fieldwork study during the holidays, which later developed into his undergraduate thesis.

What began as curiosity gradually turned into a clear academic direction.

After graduating from XMUM, Zheng Zixin was recommended for postgraduate studies at Xiamen University, where he received systematic training in dialectology and participated in extensive fieldwork across southern Fujian. He also joined a research project on an intelligent Minnan dialect voice system, working on speech data verification.

"It was the first time I truly realised how linguistic theory could intersect with technology," he said.

With three consecutive years of top academic results, Zheng Zixin was admitted to The Chinese University of Hong Kong as a PhD student. His doctoral research focused on interrogative sentence patterns in Minnan dialects, drawing on fieldwork conducted in Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Quanzhou, Chaoshan, and Penang.

When it came time to apply for academic positions, Zheng Zixin submitted only one application - to XMUM.

"It’s my alma mater," he said simply. "I know the environment, and I genuinely like it here."

During the interview, he found himself facing a familiar figure: his former undergraduate thesis supervisor. The roles had changed, but the conversation felt natural - less like an interview, and more like a continuation of earlier academic discussions.

In September 2025, Zheng Zixin officially returned to XMUM, teaching Chinese Language and Chinese Dialectology. Rather than focusing solely on theory, he aims to connect linguistic concepts with everyday language use and his own fieldwork experiences.

"We speak every day, and language phenomena are everywhere," he said. "Understanding them helps us understand both language and ourselves."

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Group photo of lecturers and students from 2025/09 intake, Department of Chinese Studies

Beyond teaching and research, Zheng Zixin is also involved in planning alumni engagement initiatives for the Department of Chinese Studies. Watching the campus grow busier and more vibrant, he often finds himself thinking back to the early days he shared with his classmates.

"If there's a chance," he said with a smile, "I hope everyone will come back and visit. I'll be here, waiting."

(Contributed by Liu Zhenru, Zhang Xincheng, Sabreena Khor Hui Jing)