Huli district, established in November 1987, was the birthplace of Xiamen Economic Zone. It has a 73.77-square-kilometer land area and a 30-km-long coast line. It has jurisdiction over five streets and 53 communities, with a population of 1.03 million. 

The district boasts a convenient network of sea, land, and air transport, and is scheduled to build 23 metro stations by 2020 to become the city's busiest metro line hub. 

Huli is the smallest of the six districts in Xiamen, but makes the most economic contributions to the city. Its land area only accounts for 4.3% of the city's total, but it generated about 20% of its GDP and 25% of its total industrial added value in 2018. On average, each square kilometer of the district generated GDP of over 1.35 billion yuan ($195.67 million). 

The district is accelerating its industrial transformation. It is taking part in the construction of Xiamen Free Trade Area and Xiamen Torch Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone. Its key industrial parks, including the Huli Innovation Park and Cross-Straits Integrated Circuits Industrial Park, serve as driving forces for the city's industrial growth. Its hi-tech industries accounted for 87.5% of the added value of the district's industries above designated size. The added value of the tertiary industry increased 6.6% year-on-year. 

Huli is home to 143,000 enterprises, 266 of which are hi-tech enterprises and 94 of which generated an industrial output of over 100 million yuan in 2018. Thirty-five Fortune 500 companies have settled in the district. It now has over 3,000 foreign-invested enterprises, with total investment of about $13.7 billion.