URUMQI, July 24 (Xinhua) -- An ancient royal temple dating back to the ninth-century Gaochang Uygur kingdom in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is being repaired.

Sculptures and murals in the Xida Temple, located in the town of Beiting, are being repaired by leading restoration experts.

"Structures in the temple will be rebuilt and the site will be excavated in order to protect the royal temple," said Zhu Zhonghui, head of the construction and management bureau of the cultural relic park of Beiting.

Built in the middle of the ninth century by members of the Uygur ethnic group, the temple was destroyed by warring factions during the 14th century. Archaeologists began excavating the temple in the 1980s.

Many of the sculptures and murals in the temple have been damaged over time and are in urgent need of restoration. The sculptures and murals depict Buddhist stories with inscriptions in both Uygur and Chinese languages.