On the morning of April 6, 2016, Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand visited Peking University (PKU). Lin Jianhua, President of Peking University, hosted a reception at Yenching Academy of PKU, accompanied by Fu Xuezhang, former ambassador of the Chinese Embassy in Thailand, Li Yansong, Vice-President of Peking University, Yuan Ming, Dean of the Yenching Academy, and Zhao Yang, Dean of the School of Chinese as a Second Language.
President Lin warmly welcomed Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn. “China and Thailand have been engaged in close contact and cooperation for the past few years,” President Lin said. “Her Royal Highness has been paying close attention to the university for a long time, and we wish Her Royal Highness good health and that the friendship between China and Thailand to remain close.”
Subsequently, Dean Yuan Ming presented an overview of the Yenching Academy to Her Royal Highness. “The Yenching Academy offers a one-year master’s program that provides courses on the study of China, areas of study including but are not limited to politics, foreign policy, literature, philosophy, and history,” Dean Yuan explained. “Right now, there are more than one hundred students from 32 countries and regions studying at Yenching Academy, and this summer there will be two Thai students joining.” President Lin added, “Students at Yenching Academy are carefully selected through many rounds of competition, and they are very talented. With these students studying here, Peking University hopes to help other countries improve their understanding of China and Asia.”
The meeting was brought to an end, with Her Royal Highness writing “Understanding China, Contributing to the World” in the Yenching Academy’s guestbook.
After the meeting, Her Royal Highness visited Peking University’s Center for Research on Ancient Chinese History. Rong Xinjiang, the Center’s Director, Zhu Yuqi, Professor from the History Department, and Qian Zhixi, Professor from the Chinese Department, welcomed Her Royal Highness. The two groups of people first discussed the bibliography and poetry of a renowned Chinese poet, Li Bai. Then, Her Royal Highness visited the collection of books stored at the center. She also mentioned that she donated a Chinese library to the Chulalongkorn University in Thailand, and she hopes to communicate more with Peking University’s Center for Research on Ancient Chinese History. A selection of books at the center and calligraphy works of Professor Zhu Yuqi were bestowed to Her Royal Highness.
Written by Zhang Xiaotong
Translated by Peng Xiao
Edited by Wei Wei
