Meet Si Miao Tian: Son of Princess Kalina of Bulgaria receives his new Chinese name, the only Western student at Shaolin monastery

Prince Simeon of Bulgaria, the 19-year-old royal, made a record when he decided to step away from the luxuries of his Sofia palace and enrol at a Shaolin Kung Fu residential class in China. His mother, Princess Kalina of Bulgaria, is world-famous for her athletic body transformation. Turns out, the prince too has a passion for physical training. Before zeroing in on Kung Fu, Prince Simeon trained extensively in taekwondo in South Korea.According to Hola, the prince went to Mount Song in Henan Province in November and now, after completing the preliminary training, he got his Chinese name: Si Miao Tian, which translates as ‘Great Disciple of Buddha of the Magnificent Heaven’. The school said that Prine Simeon is the only Western student they have.“After passing the exam, what filled him with the most joy was being accepted as a disciple by the great master Wang Hengying in an official ceremony. This meant a great deal to Simeon. Master Wang Hengying, who is dedicated to spreading and promoting traditional Chinese martial arts culture, has been the one guiding and training him,” the school said.The prince’s daily routine at the school was rigorous. He woke up at five in the morning to follow a tough training program of eight to ten hours a day and followed the same daily routine as all other students. After passing the exam, he received his first diploma from the hands of the great master Wang Hengying. For two months, he was without a phone. He could call his parents only when he reached the school and before his stay ended.A usual day in Prince Simeon’s life in China began with a 5 a.m. run amid nature. These run breaks continued throughout the day as they practised kung fu for 8-10 hours a day until datk.The school said that the only exception that they made for the prince was letting him stay with the trainers but that was not because he is a prince but the prince was facing a language barrier with his classmates. So the authorities let Prince Simeon live near the town of Dengfeng in Henan Province, in the impressive 58,000-square-meter complex, and slept in the Quanshi building with the trainers.