Imagine galloping across vast grasslands before your first day of kindergarten 🏇. That’s reality for a pint-sized horseback rider in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, who started mastering equestrian skills at just 18 months old. CGTN’s Yang Xinmeng spotlighted this young talent – and the region’s legendary Akhal-Teke horses – in her latest vlog from Urumqi.
These golden-maned stallions aren’t just Instagram-worthy 📸. Once favored by Chinese emperors as "heavenly horses," they symbolize Xinjiang’s rich Silk Road heritage. But Yang’s镜头 (camera lens) captures something fresher: kids laughing while brushing ponies, teens racing across sunlit fields, and communities preserving traditions through living history.
"It’s not about politics or stereotypes," one local rider tells Yang. "We ride because the wind feels faster here." 🌬️ From toddler equestrians to 2,000-year-old breeding techniques, this is Xinjiang through a lens you won’t find on trending pages – where every hoofbeat tells a story.
