Wooden structure relics in the ancient city of Xi'an famous for its Terra-cotta warriors and Tang Dynasty (618-907) buildings in northwest China are in danger of falling victims to white ants.

Friday's (Apr 28) China Daily quoted its sources as saying that among 24 large and important ancient buildings in Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi Province, 17 have found damages by white ants. They include the Beilin Museum, built in Tang Dynasty, the Dayan Pagoda built some 1,400 years ago, and the Chenghuangmiao Temple built more than 600years ago.

The Xi'an Institute for Prevention and Control of White Ants told the newspaper that the areas where termites were found increased from 10 percent of the relic sites in 2002 to 15 percent now.

Ants eat wooden materials and reproduce there. The insect caused damages worth more than 15 million yuan (1.85 million U.S. dollars) in the city every year, said Gao Lianggang, director of the institute.

Experts with the institute found that with the climate turned warmer and damper in the city, more ants arrived.

The institute called for government and public help in treating the ant disaster.

Editor: Wing