On December 22, the Confucius Institute of Prince of Songkla University held the celebration ceremony of its 11th anniversary. Over 350 people were invited to attend this celebration, including GXNU President He Zubin and a delegation as well as Dr.Chusak Limsakul (President of Prince of Songkla University) and leaders and representatives of the Prince of Songkla University, leaders of Chinese associations in Southern Thailand, Mr. Li Xianying (Head of Thai Southern 14 Provinces Disaster Relief Department), Mrs. Uthaiwan Chalermachai, Consul Feng Xiao (Songkla), government leaders and six Chinese Center leaders and representatives from educational institutions of different levels in Southern Thailand.

The celebration lasted for a whole day. The art performance and Chinese artists' works exhibition took place in the morning while the signing ceremony in the afternoon. The celebration in the morning was started by students from Phimanphittayasan School, Satun, who performed traditional Thai folk dance. Then, President Chusak Limsakul, President He Zubin, Dr. Kanda Janyam (Thai Dean of the Confucius Institute) and Dr. Zhu Xiaomei (Chinese Dean) were invited to make speeches. President Limsakul said, "The Confucius Institute has brought great convenience to our students to learn Chinese. A decade ago, the Confucius Institute came to the Prince of Songkla University. It had gone through a decade of vicissitude already to gain today's prosperity. I want to express my gratitude to GXNU for its trust. We have had a great cooperation!" Dr. Kanda praised the role of the Confucius Institute in promoting Chinese education in Southern Thailand and expressed his gratitude to its selfless contribution. Later, the leaders present there attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony to express their good wish for a better tomorrow of the Confucius Institute.

After the ceremony, the art performance started. Delegation from GXNU showed traditional Chinese music, the "Jasmine." Mr. Yang Yongqiang from GXNU played Chinese trumpet to perform the song "Lantern Festival." Their performances were deeply welcomed by the audience. The faculty band of the School of Arts of the Prince of Songkla University also gave a performance of Thai folk music and sang two Chinese songs. Then, teachers from Yunnan University of Business Management, all the volunteer teachers from the Confucius Institute, student representatives from the Hatyaiwittayalai Somboonkulkanya School performed Chinese and Thai dances respectively. Phichet Wongfu, a student who once studied in the Confucius Institute and currently studied in Peking University, also specially came to the site to sing two Chinese songs for the celebration. Student representatives from the School of Arts of Prince of Songkla University performed a group recitation of poem "A Grateful Heart," to pay their sincere gratitude and good wish to the Confucius Institute.


Then, the guests joined the "1st Chinese Painting and Calligraphy Exhibition of Confucius Institute" with strong interest. On the site, students from College of Fine Arts of GXNU also painted and wrote calligraphy to present a great feast of Chinese art to the audience. Besides the exhibition, the celebration also included events such as experiencing Chinese food, Chinese tea ceremony and Chinese calligraphy.


On that afternoon, at the Meeting Room No. 1 of President's Office Building, the presidents of the two universities signed a cooperation agreement, a new chapter of cooperation between the two.


The Confucius Institute of Prince of Songkla University had gone through a decade of vicissitude, upholding constantly the principle of "striving for excellence." It had been making great contribution to the Chinese education in Southern Thailand. Up to now, the Confucius Institute of the Prince of Songkla University had established seven Chinese teaching sites and had cooperative relations with six Chinese centers in Southern Thailand. Dean Zhu Xiaomei said, "The Confucius Institute enjoyed a great reputation in Southern Thailand, respected and loved deeply by the people in Southern Thailand. Without the generous support from all parties here, we could not have gone so far. We will continue to work hard to provide better service for the people in Southern Thailand."

 Speech by President of Prince of Songkla University

Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony

Thai Folk Dance by Students from Hatyaiwittayalai Somboonkulkanya School

A Gift Specially Created for Celebration from President He Zubin to President Limsakul

Cooperation Agreement Signing