Getting a glimpse of the future from a front row seat

It was cold outside the Great Hall of the People on Wednesday morning, but inside - where a news conference was being held to introduce the Communist Party of China's new top leadership - was warm and welcoming.

I and hundreds of other Chinese and foreign journalists attended the event so we could see for the first time the newly elected members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.

Reporters and photographers jostled for position in the huge building's Eastern Hall as they prepared to meet the people who would help shape China's destiny.