Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of the Kingdom of Thailand paid a visit to Shandong University and was awarded its honorary professor early this month.

On April 7, Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of the Kingdom of Thailand was awarded honorary professor by Zhang Rong, president of Shandong University.[Photo by Yang Yunlei]

“Shandong is the hometown of Confucius and Mencius with a rich traditional culture, and Shandong university has a profound cultural background and cultivated many talents. I was very happy to be an honorary professor of the university,” said Princess Sirindhorn on April 7 during her visit.

Princess Sirindhorn said that she has forged an indissoluble bound with China and Chinese culture since she started learning Chinese at her mother's suggestion thirty years ago.

“Friendly feelings and mutual understanding were the foundation for enhancing a mutual friendship,” she said, noting that she was looking forward to further communication and cooperation in the cultural and educational sectors between China and Thailand.

Zhang Rong, president of Shandong University expressed his hope that Princess Sirindhorn would continue to support cultural and educational exchange between Shandong and Thai universities, especially in the fields of crystalline material and marine science.

Princess Sirindhorn and her delegation visit the State-level key lab of crystal materials in Shandong University after the conferring ceremony.[Photo by Yang Yunlei]

By Wang Qian and Jing Zizhao