The groups live for the entire period in assigned hotels, which are sealed off from the general public. As a great concession, this year some delegates who live in Beijing have been allowed to go home each night. If Congress or Conference members visit a restaurant outside, the manager is supposed to inform the police so that they can send a guard. Conditions are even tighter this year because of fears that members may be accosted by the banned Falun Gong sect. Sensitive issues like the plan to develop China's far western provinces, or to shift water from the Yangtze to the Yellow River, may attract quite a few resolutions.
Answers tend to come back slowly.
Groups may reconvene later in the year to discuss the information they gain. Occasionally this leads to the publication of books and articles, or even new legislation. Membership of the two organisations at the national or lower levels carries less prestige than before. The easier access it once provided for scarce commodities, like soft class train tickets, is also less important as living and transport conditions improve.