Adviser hopes to boost kindergarten teachers' pay

I checked in at a budget hotel along the North Fifth Ring Road in Beijing when China's top political advisory body started its annual session on Saturday.

The hotel is a 20-minute walk from the Beijing Conference Center, where many members of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference are gathering for group discussions on major issues through March 15.

Booking the hotel saved me the trouble of spending three hours a day in a taxi between home and the conference center. It also means I made a choice to leave my 11-month-old baby to a nanny during the days and nights while I am covering the meeting.