Hello and welcome to this week's  In the Spotlight on China Radio International. I'm your host Xiao Hua.  

In today's edition, we will first visit a temple which was used to hold ritual ceremonies. Known as Xiannong Temple, it was where the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties offered sacrifices to the god of agriculture. It was also a place for the royal family to do plowing themselves and experience the life of farmers. 

We will then appreciate a traditional Chinese art form, the seal carving. As a combination of calligraphy, painting and carving art, the seal print represents an important part of Chinese history, traditional art and culture.

Please stay tuned.

Part I:

In ancient times, ritual ceremonies were performed at certain festivals where the emperors of China would pray to gods at different altars. Most people think there are four major temples in Beijing -- the Temples of Heaven, Earth, Sun and Moon. But there is actually another one called the Temple of Xiannong.

It was the temple where the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties offered sacrifices to Xiannong, the god of agriculture and others. It was also a place for the royal family to do plowing themselves and experience the life of farmers. Now the Temple of Xiannong is known as the Beijing Ancient Architecture Museum.

Here is our reporter Xiao Yu .

Part II:

Musicians from China and abroad have long been inspired by Chinese traditional folk music. Puccini wrote an opera of a Chinese story in the early 20th century and named it "Turandot" after the Chinese princess in the story. This has been seen as a major influence of Chinese music in the western world. On the other hand, music from other countries has also had great impact on Chinese musician. In today's program,  our reporter Ning Yan will play you some foreign music played by traditional Chinese music instruments.