'Beautiful China' Progress Expected from 'Two Sessions'

Beijingers enjoyed a rare day of blue skies and bright sunshine on Monday, as the dangerously smoggy conditions seen over the last two months forced many to stay at home.

Air pollution remains a big problem for Beijing and many other Chinese large cities. Citizens expect the ongoing sessions of the country's legislature and top political advisory body to result in practical moves to solve the pollution problem.

The annual session of the 12th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China's political advisory body, opened Sunday. The session of the 12th National People's Congress (NPC), China's legislature, convenes on Tuesday.

The meetings mark the first time for the two bodies to convene since the Communist Party of China (CPC) launched its new leadership late last year.

"Development will consume resources. But people are increasingly aware of the importance of the quality of their living environment," said Xiao Xingzhi, a professor at the Dongbei University of Finance and Economics in northeast China's Liaoning Province.

Repairing the environment and meeting related public expectations will be a major task for the new government that will be selected during the sessions, Xiao said.

Multiple Chinese cities were hit with dense smog in January. Beijing, for instance, had 23 smoggy days from Jan. 1 to 28, about 10 more than the annual average during the same period over the last 10 years and the most since 1954.

The average density of PM2.5, or particulate matter 2.5 microns in diameter or less, in January was 180 micrograms per cubic meter in Beijing, about 30 percent higher than that recorded during the same period from 2009 to 2011, according to meteorological data.

Vehicle exhaust and emissions from coal-burning plants were blamed for the prolonged smog that hit north and east China in January and February.