China's most revered culture of dragon, or loong by its Chinese pronunciation, needs to be thoroughly explored, said a political advisor on Sunday.

Dragon, an imaginary animal based on a 7,000-year-old Chinese legend, is a combination of a horse's head, snake's body and chook's claws. It has long been regarded as the totem and ancestor of the Chinese nation.

"Though all the people of the Chinese origin in the world regard themselves as descendants of the dragon, we need to further our research to convince the nation and even the whole world on the root of the dragon culture and what it embodies," said Zhou Yixing, at the ongoing full session of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Congress (CPPCC).

More research should be conducted on exploring the root of the dragon culture, since it is the origin of the research on the Chinese civilization, said Zhou at the third plenary meeting of the CPPCC National Committee's annual session.

Zhou said that the culture-based history research which focuses on the folk legend and intangible cultural heritage will better preserve the liveliness of Chinese cultural relics.

Last year, a Shanghai scholar suggested a new English name "loong" for dragon to help separate the evil image of the western dragon amid a nationwide controversy against the idea to find another icon for the country.

(Xinhua News Agency March 11, 2007)