One lawmaker's calendar typical of many in NPC

The annual session of the National People's Congress is the most high-profile event of China's top legislature, and it is also the culmination of 12 busy months for more than 2,900 NPC deputies. The national lawmakers, selected from different backgrounds to represent the entire population, traverse the country gathering information that will influence the nation's future.

However, it's an unpaid, part-time job for most NPC deputies.

Chen Shu, a 62-year-old lawyer from Guangdong province, is in her third term as an NPC deputy.