Immediately after I graduated from the college，I joined the great cause of wild horse protection in Xinjiang. At that time，I was only twenty-one years old. As the only female technician at the Wild Horse Center，I would guard the future of the wild horses with my forerunners.
The wild horses have such a history：they had been lived in China from the time of their ancestors； however，they got the foreign name of Przewalski Horse just because it was Przewalski，a Russian scholar，who first caught their specimen in the Gobi desert between the ancient cities of Qitai and Balikun，Xinjiang，in 1878. They had once galloped across the vast land in the west. But their offsprings were scattered around the world in places far from their homeland. They had been domesticated by man； however，they were finally driven to the corner of tragic extinction in the wild by civilization. With their long history of evolution，they lay the foundation of Darwin's theory of evolution and were considered to be a great treasure for their genes were as old as sixty million years. It is felicitous that the wild horses have finally come to the turning point of their destiny： the Wild Horse Center was set up on the barren northwest to the town of Laotai，Jimsar county，in 1986. It covered 600 hectares and would be the starting point of the wild horses' journey back to the wilderness.
Przewalski Horses are also known as Mongolian Wild Horses，for they lived originally in the Junggar Basin in Xinjiang，China and the droughty pastures and deserts in the People's Republic of Mongolia. They are listed among those animals under the first grade protection by the Wild Animal Protection Act of PRC.
Sixty million years ago，the Przewalski Horses were just as big as the foxes today. After the long evolution，they are now the only specimens of wild horses living on the earth. They are the living specimens of evolution，and are of great value in our search for the secrets of evolution and development of genes. The wild horses also play a great role in the fields of culture and arts as well as in keeping the integrity of the structure and function of biological community，insuring the interaction and coordinated evolution of plants and animals.
However，as far as today，the wild horses are extinct in the wild，which is one of the tragic results of man's ignoring the laws of science and nature and over-exploitation of natural resources. The only living horses，with a number of over 1，000，are scattered all around the world，leaving people the question whether our offsprings could see the real wild horses. The wild horses，with none of them living in the wild and featuring their small number and pure bloodline，have become a kind of animal even more precious than the giant pandas.
These wild horses have now come to a critical point of survival after more than 100 years of affluent life behind the bars. They have been a winner in tens of thousands of years of natural evolution，but now，they have to make their choice of fate again.
In efforts to save the endangered Przewalski Horses and realize the final goal of sending them back to the nature，since 1985，China has introduced 18 horses from Britain，Germany and the United States，following suggestions of international protection organizations. The horses have been kept in the Wild Horse Center of Xinjiang，where the breeding and research work have been going on. Since the establishment of the Center，these “lost children” have showed great adaptability to the natural environment of the homeland from which they have been away for such a long time. They have gone through all the critical stages including the adaptation and the reproduction of the first three generations. We have successfully bred them up to the fourth generation，increasing their numbers by more than 200，with a living rate of 80%. As the largest of its kind in Asia，the Center has become the second largest wild horse breeding and research base.
On August 28，2001，27 horses were sent back to the wild. This is the first wild horse releasing experiment in China. This event is a milestone in China's wild life preservation，indicating the advance from pure protection to the restoration of wild species.
Behind the great achievements are the physical toiling and spiritual sufferings of the countless dedicators.
The Center is located deep in the harsh environment of the vast Gobi desert. Far from major cities，it is just like a small village forgotten by modern civilizations. When I was here for the first time，young and lively，I came under unimaginable pressure just like the horses behind the bars. After years of life with the wild horses，I now feel such a deep feeling for them that they are just like my close friends. I would always go to see the horses when I cannot bear the loneliness and anguish. When they come to me，nibbling at my clothes，I feel great relief from the bottom of my heart. Though they can't speak，I feel like that they could see through my mind，making me believe that we are predestined soul mates. So，I have never taken them as pure animals from the very beginning. Instead，I have been trying my best to love and understand them with my heart as creatures bestowed with beautiful souls and emotions. After my observation，I find that the wild horses are animals with strong characteristics of sociality. Just like human beings，they live in family herds consisted of noble and humble members in different ranks. The herds are under patriarch rules. There could be bloody fights between the stallions for privilege or concubines. Between them，you could also find stories of moving love，heart-breaking farewell，and tear jerking affections of the mother for her children.
After so many years，I have been familiar with every single horse here. I know the father，the mother as well as their offsprings. What are their respective tempers？ When did they fall in love？ When did they have their first baby？ I am crystal clear with all the answers. We have that kind of unspeakable telepathy that I could touch every bit of their sentiment，happiness as well as sorrow. Especially，I have a heart-to-heart understanding of their afflictions as souls in captivity which were once so proud and free.
I could not help writing diaries，keeping a record of the loneliness of the horsemen，my own zigzagging emotions，as well as the happiness and sorrow of the wild horse family. In eight years，I have written more than 300，000 words. Here，my dear friends，please allow me to compile the book from my diaries and present to you the stories of the wild horse family as well as those between them and me. I will show you the life of the mysterious herds which had once been galloping all around the wild lands. I do this in hope of that there will be more and more people caring about them and about their life filled with frustrations，for the destiny of wild horses is closely connected with that of us. I also hope that，after reading this book，someone would notice the young hearts protecting the wild horses on the Gobi desert and get some understanding of their yearnings and aspirations.
I would feel greatly satisfied if this book could serve that humble aim.
