Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of the Kingdom of Thailand visited the High Energy Photon Source (HEPS), a major scientific facility located in Huairou District, Beijing, on Saturday, according to the Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

Cao Jun, director of the IHEP, extended a warm welcome to the Thai delegation and expressed appreciation for Princess Sirindhorn's long-term interest in the institute's scientific research and her support for science and technology cooperation between China and Thailand.

He recalled that over the past decade, the Princess has visited the IHEP on three occasions. In 2011, she visited the Beijing Electron Positron Collider following its major upgrade. In 2017, she witnessed the signing of a cooperation agreement between the IHEP and three Thai universities, under which Thai institutions joined the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) project. In 2023, she visited the JUNO experimental site, located 700 meters underground.

During her visit, Princess Sirindhorn toured the HEPS facility and was briefed on principles of the light source, the functions of its core components, and its applications. She expressed hopes for broader cooperation and academic exchange between the two countries based on the HEPS platform.

HEPS is a key scientific and technological infrastructure project included in China's 13th Five-Year Plan and approved by the country's National Development and Reform Commission. Once completed, the fourth-generation synchrotron radiation facility will be the country's first high-energy light source, designed to offer the greatest brightness globally. (ECNS)