Great Hall of the People in the context of "Tiananmen Square"

The National People's Congress (NPC) is the highest organ of state power of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Per the principle of unified power, the NPC heads China's unified state apparatus, and per the division of labour of state organs all state organs from the State Council to the Supreme People's Court (SPC) are accountable to it. With 2,977 members in 2023, it is the largest legislative body in the world. The NPC is elected for a term of five years. It holds annual sessions every spring, usually lasting from 10 to 14 days, in the Great Hall of the People on the west side of Tiananmen Square in Beijing.

Under China's Constitution, the NPC is structured as a unicameral legislature, with the power to amend the Constitution, legislate and oversee the operations of the government, and elect the major officers of the National Supervisory Commission, the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Central Military Commission, and the state. Since Chinese politics functions within a communist state framework based on the system of people's congress, the NPC works under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Some observers characterize the branch as a rubber stamp body. Most delegates to the NPC are officially elected by local people's congresses at the provincial level, local legislatures which are indirectly elected at all levels except the county-level. The CCP controls the nomination and election processes at every level in the people's congress system.

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC) is the permanent organ of the National People's Congress (NPC), the national legislature of the People's Republic of China. It exercises the powers of the NPC when it is not in session.

The NPCSC is composed of a chairman, vice chairpersons, a secretary-general, and regular members, all of whom are elected by regular NPC sessions. The day-to-day operations of the Standing Committee are handled by the Council of Chairpersons, which is composed of the chairman, vice chairpersons, and the secretary-general. Although the parent NPC officially has superiority over the Standing Committee, and certain authorities are not delegated, the Standing Committee is generally viewed to have more de facto power, as the NPC convenes only once a year for two weeks, leaving its Standing Committee the only organ that regularly drafts and approves decisions and laws.

The National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (Chinese: 中国共产党全国代表大会; pinyin: Zhōngguó Gòngchǎndǎng Quánguó Dàibiǎo Dàhuì) is a party congress that is held every five years. The National Congress is formally the highest body within the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Since 1987 the National Congress has been held in the months of October or November. The venue for the event, beginning in 1956, is the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. The Congress is the public venue for top-level leadership changes in the CCP and the formal event for changes to its constitution. In the past two decades the National Congress of the CCP has been pivotal at least as a symbolic part of leadership changes.

The 8th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party was held in two sessions, the first 15–27 September 1956 and the second 5–23 May 1958 in Beijing. It was the first Congress of the Chinese Communist Party since the start of it taking full control of mainland China in 1949 and establishing the People's Republic of China. It was preceded by the relatively early 7th National Congress and was formally succeeded by the 9th National Congress. 1,026 delegates and 86 alternate delegates represented the party's 10.73 million members.

The Great Hall of the People was not yet constructed, so it was held in the National Political Consultative Hall.

The 11th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party was held in the Great Hall of the People, Beijing, between August 12–18, 1977, about five years before the 12th National Congress, and four years after the 10th National Congress. 1,510 delegates represented the party's estimated 35 million members.

The Congress formally declared the Cultural Revolution officially over after 11 long years, ending a long chapter of Chinese history. The Gang of Four were fully criticized for their role in the revolution. However, it also affirmed the "success" of the revolution and declared that class struggle would remain the hallmark of Chinese socialism. Hua Guofeng was formally elected as Chairman of the 11th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and was elected to the chairmanship of the Central Military Commission. The Political Bureau was also renewed with new memberships when the 11th Politburo was elected as a result of the congress.

The 13th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party was held in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing from 25 October to 1 November 1987. It was preceded by the 12th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party and was succeeded by the 14th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party. It was attended by 1,936 delegates and 61 'specially invited' delegates representing more than 46 million party members and included 200 foreign journalists who were invited to attend the opening and closing ceremonies. In addition, the Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and the CPPCC National Committee, representatives from the National Federation of industry and commerce, non-party people, ethnic minorities and religious people were invited to this congress as audience.

The congress reaffirmed the correctness of the policy of reforms and the Open Door that was adopted during the Third Plenum of the 11th Congress in December 1978. It also saw the rejuvenation of the party leadership as veterans from the Long March retired and was replaced by younger and better educated technocrats.