HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand and her delegation visited the High Energy Photon Source (HEPS), a major national science and technology infrastructure in Beijing, on April 13.

CAO Jun, Director of the Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP), Chinese Academy of Sciences, warmly welcomed Princess Sirindhorn and expressed his appreciation for her longstanding attention to science and technology. He noted that the Princess’s three prior visits to IHEP had allowed her to witness both the institute’s development and the deepening China-Thailand cooperation in high energy physics.

The Princess first visited IHEP in 2011, when she toured the Beijing Electron Positron Collider, China’s first large science facility. In 2017, she witnessed the signing of cooperation agreements between IHEP and three Thai universities, significantly advancing cooperation in both neutrino and collider experiments. In 2023, IHEP had the honor of receiving the Princess at the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) in Guangdong. CAO expressed his hope that the Princess’s fourth visit—to HEPS—would further expand bilateral cooperation in synchrotron radiation light sources and promote friendship between China and Thailand.

The Princess first received a briefing on HEPS’s construction progress presented by DONG Yuhui, Deputy Director of IHEP. HEPS is the first fourth-generation synchrotron radiation light source in Asia and is designed to produce the brightest light in the world. It is capable of accommodating 90 beamlines. Over the past five years, the accelerator complex and the first set of beamline installations have been completed, culminating in the start of joint commissioning on March 27. HEPS is well positioned to reach preliminary operational status this year, facilitating scientific collaboration among Asia countries.

The Princess then toured the accelerator complex and beamlines, warmly interacting with researchers on the development of the facility and its research capacities. She expressed admiration for HEPS’s progress and achievements and conveyed her hope that Thailand and China would carry out multifaceted cooperation and exchange based on the light source.

Academician WANG Yifang of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; WANG Zhenyu, Deputy Director-General of the Bureau of International Cooperation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and WU Jun, Counselor of the Department of Asian Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China attended activities related to the Princess’s visit, along with other leaders and staff members.

The Princess toured the storage ring of HEPS. (Credit: IHEP)

The Princess toured the beamline of HEPS. (Credit: IHEP)

Group Photo (Credit: IHEP)