CHENGDU, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- Murals featuring the classical Chinese novel "Journey to the West" have been discovered in an ancient temple in southwest China.

The Baofeng Temple in Sichuan's Deyang City was recently put on a provincial list of key protected cultural relics. The temple, located in a village in Deyang, was built during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). It has four rooms and covers an area of about 783 square meters.

The temple houses more than 30 murals, which mainly feature folklore and legends, including protagonists from "Journey to the West."

"Journey to the West" is one of the four classic Chinese novels and was written by Wu Cheng'en in the 1590s during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). In the novel, the Monkey King had supernatural powers and is responsible for protecting a pilgrim on a journey to retrieve the Buddhist sutras from India.

Wood sculptures in the temple also drew attention, with many depicting Chinese folklore like "Eight Immortals Cross the Sea."

"The Baofeng Temple has significant cultural value, and it provides great material for research about China's ancient history, architecture and culture," said researcher Liu Zhangze.