The center's training enclosure is in Jimsar county, about 130 kilometers from Urumqi. It's part of the biggest wild horse research center in Asia, which has successfully bred 716 Prezewalski's horses in six generations since 1985, when it imported 24 of the animals from Europe and the United States.

The horses are native to the steppes of central Asia and have long been considered the only "true" wild horse in the world today. The center owns 439 Prezwalski's horses and is home to nearly 25 percent of the breed worldwide.