Reporter’s diary: At the opening of the 19th CPC National Congress

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‍5:30 a.m.: it’s raining as we meet outside CGTN headquarters. Today is the start of the 19th CPC National Congress, the biggest political event in China, held every five years, and we have been advised to arrive early at the Great Hall of the People to have time to go through security.

Beijing is still asleep and the Great Hall is dark when we arrive. But already some 70-80 journalists, photographers and camera people are queuing outside, huddled under umbrellas. The streets around the Great Hall have been blocked off. In the distance, you can see the South Gate of the Forbidden City with Mao’s portrait.

It’s not every day you get to cover a CPC National Congress. In fact, this is the first time CGTN has sent international reporters alongside Chinese colleagues to cover it.

7:10 a.m. outside the Great Hall of the People: we've been queuing for almost 1h30. /Photo by Sim Sim Wissgott

The National Congress is a big deal: this is where the senior leadership of the Communist Party of China is elected, where the direction of the Party and of China is set for the next five years.

Given China’s position on the world stage, all eyes will be on what happens at the Great Hall of the People over the next week. So to be a part of it is quite an experience.

Walking into the main auditorium for the first time was especially impressive. The red drapes on the stage, the rows of seats for the delegates, the massive golden hammer and sickle on the wall.

Opening ceremony of the 19th CPC National Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, on October 18, 2017. /Photo by Sim Sim Wissgott

9:00 a.m. on the dot: the band starts playing. CPC officials seated on the stage clap as the Party’s senior leadership walks in. There they all are: Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC, former Party heads Hu Jintao and Jiang Zemin, plus members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. The national anthem plays and a moment of silence is held to honour past CPC leaders, then Li Keqiang introduces Xi who walks up to the podium.

In his speech, Xi praised the achievements of the last five years but warned of challenges still ahead. Calling on the CPC to continue comprehensive reforms, he also vowed that China would become more and more open, and called for further efforts in the fight against corruption and progress in alleviating poverty.

He spoke for almost three and a half hours in his familiar slow and measured tone.

On the balcony, journalists, photographers and camera people bustled about, chatting and taking selfies.

In a way, that was unexpected. Chinese political meetings, with their rows of uniformly dressed delegates and their coordinated tea pouring, have always struck me as a very solemn affair, the kind where nobody would move a muscle while Xi spoke.

Journalists at the opening of the 19th CPC National Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, on October 18, 2017. /Photo by Sim Sim Wissgott

In fact, there was a regular coming and going, even among other attendees seated on the balcony, and there was a constant hum as TV journalists did standups for reports to be filed later in the day and others replayed – not always softly – the footage they had just shot.

Still, on the stage and in the auditorium, things were restrained. Delegates had all been given a copy of Xi’s speech and turned the pages in unison as he spoke, applauding at regular intervals.

The bursts of color in the crowd belonged to those delegates from ethnic minorities who had donned traditional dress. As they walked through the hallways before the opening ceremony, you could hear the sounds of bells and beads sewn into the women’s dresses.

A delegate from Guizhou Province is interviewed before the start of the 19th CPC National Congress in Beijing, China, on October 18, 2017. /Photo by Sim Sim Wissgott

And every once in a while during Xi’s speech, we would see the dance of the tea pouring ladies, moving as one through the rows as they refilled the delegates’ cups.

With this ceremony, the 19th CPC National Congress has now officially begun. Over 2,300 delegates from every province, municipality, and autonomous region are in Beijing and will hold discussions over the next few days, some open to the press.

This will culminate in the election next week of a new CPC Central Committee that will lead the country over the next five years, and the adoption of a new amendment to the Party constitution.

CGTN will be following this all very closely. So stay tuned!

Dawn on Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, on October 18, 2017. /CGTN Photo