From grassland to grotto: A tale of two horses and a legendary road

High in Kyrgyzstan's Ferghana mountain range sits Saimaluu-Tash – also known as Saimaly-Tash or Ayrymach Too – home to one of Central Asia's and the world's most stunning open-air galleries. Nearly 10,000 petroglyphs have been identified here, depicting horses, bulls, yaks and more, with the oldest dating back to the third to early-second millennia BC, the Eneolithic and Bronze ages. Thousands of kilometers away, in Dunhuang, northwest China's Gansu Province, lies another treasure: the Mogao Grottoes. Carved into a cliffside at a key crossroads of the ancient Silk Road, these caves hold over a thousand years of Buddhist art – murals, sculptures and manuscripts that fused Eastern and Western influences into something unlike anywhere else on Earth. For centuries, they've captivated everyone who's seen them. So what could possibly connect a horse carved into rock at Saimaluu-Tash to the winged "heavenly horse" painted on the walls of Mogao? They might just be the same breed – the legendary Ferghana horses of Central Asia's Fergana Valley, aka Ferghana Valley. And the answer lies along the Silk Road itself, with one man at the center of it. Over 2,100 years ago, Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) envoy Zhang Qian rode west, igniting a friendship between China and Central Asia that endures to this day. It was his journey that first brought the speedy, hardy Ferghana horses galloping into China – where they'd be given a new name: the "celestial horses." Two horses. One road. One legendary diplomat. With the help of AI technology, here's a magical encounter connecting them. 📺 Subscribe to our YouTube channel and stay updated with our latest analysis and interviews:👇 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgrNz-aDmcr2uuto8_DL2jg 👈 Download our APP on Apple Store (iOS): https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cctvnews-app/id922456579?l=zh&ls=1&mt=8 Download our APP on Google Play (Android): https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.imib.cctv For more: https://www.cgtn.com/video Most watched videos: Impossible Challenge: 30 seconds to count banknotes BLINDFOLDED https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmP_Ybj-jws Impossible Challenge: Gymnastics Boy Arat Hosseini from Iran! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sxX--U4c8w Impossible Challenge: How to calm babies in 5 seconds? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kR3q9sXM7WA