Scholars attending the seminar will discuss the history of the horse, its habitat, current research findings and most importantly, why it sweats a blood-like fluid as it gallops along -- a phenomenon that has triggered heated debate worldwide among horse experts.

Some people think the red sweat is a figment of the imaginationor is blood from wounds on the horse's back left by parasites. No one in Xinjiang has yet done a laboratory test on the fluid.

The seminar will delve into the long-lasting controversy as to whether Akhal-Teke horses still exist in Xinjiang, home to a wide variety of wildlife species.

In April, 2001, a Japanese scholar announced his discovery of a "blood-sweating" horse close to Tianshan Mountain in Xinjiang, where in 2000 he had taken pictures of the animal.

His discovery has aroused widespread attention among Chinese and international horse experts alike.

The "blood-sweating" horse has been making headlines in Chinese newspapers since the start of this year -- the year of "horse" in the Chinese lunar calendar.

In January, a Xinjiang-based company launched a quest for the horse. Numerous phone calls, letters and photos were received fromacross the country -- with some eye-witness accounts of the animalbeing seen in Xinjiang.

China received a special gift from its central Asian neighbor Turkmenistan in mid June: an eight-year-old Akhal-Teke that has been much sought after by the local press.

Part of the nation's fascination with the Akhal-Teke is based on legends which say the horse is able to run 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles) a day and was the mount of the legendary emperor Genghis Khan (1167-1227).

(People's Daily July 29, 2002)