Riding high

The park hosts the largest Akhal-Teke horse base of its kind in the country, containing about one-sixth of the estimated 3,000 specimens worldwide, Chen said, with painting, sculptures and other artifacts and relics complementing the equestrian experience.

The site covering about 13.3 hectares also touts rare, ancient desert poplars (populus euphratica), with 3,800-year-old trees within its forest. Tourism has increased steadily in recent years to hit about 1 million visits annually, he said.

Chen, 58, who has been gathering Akhal-Tekes from neighboring areas in the past two decades, said cultural and equestrian exchange programs and performances involving the horses will continue and ride on latest Belt and Road developments that fittingly leverage Silk Road heritage.

"We've successfully promoted understanding across countries and peoples through equestrian culture," he said. His group, which records an average annual trade volume of $1 billion involving its Central Asian import-export business, is posed to further promote cultural tourism home and abroad via its ecological platform, he said.

Wutzala, head of the China Horse Culture, Sports and Tourism Institute, which is under the Art Development Center of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, pointed to the rich legacy of the Akhal-Teke, which has been used to build diplomatic and cultural ties up to modern times.