The Akhal-Teke, a breed of horse from Turkmenistan, has a reputation for speed, endurance and intelligence. In May 2014, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov presented an Akhal-Teke horse to China during a meeting with President Xi Jinping. It was the third time a horse of this breed has been presented to a Chinese leader.

In 2000, when then-president Jiang Zemin visited the Central Asian country, he was given an Akhal-Teke. In 2006, when Berdymukhamedov visited China, he brought another Akhal-Teke and presented it to then-president Hu Jintao. Now there are about 3,000 purebred Akhal-Teke horses in the world, with some 300 in China.

China's largest exhibit base for Akhal-Teke horses lies in Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. The base boasts some 50 Akhal-Teke horses, each worth at least one million yuan (about $160,000).

An Akhal-Teke horse is seen in the base, in Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, December 2014.  [Photo/CFP]