Behind the Red curtain: What it is like to be a delegate at China's Party Congress How she became a delegate to the 18th Party Congress remains a mystery. "You do not voluntarily try to get into the process and you do not know if you are nominated, at first," she said. But after having been put forward by her colleagues at Xinhua, Mrs Zhu was carefully scrutinised, for the better part of 18 months, and voted on twice by different committees before her telephone rang. I did not expect to be chosen, to be honest. When they called to tell me I was really surprised. Open-minded, internet savvy and regularly broadcasting her thoughts via social media, Mrs Zhu is a far cry from the stiff old men with jet-black dyed hair who filled the stage as the Party Congress opened on Thursday. "People have started calling me Delegate Zhu," she said, appearing both bashful and delighted at the elevation. Some have been urging me to tell officials not to wear luxury watches, and others say I am not using perfect Chinese when I tweet. They say as a delegate, I should be upholding the Chinese language! As the Congress moves into gear this weekend, Mrs Zhu will theoretically get her chance to choose the leaders who will steer China through the next decade. "I am allowed to choose my preferred leading members, and if I got enough votes, I could be a leader, too," she said proudly. Every delegate can read the reports evaluating the top leaders. I have the right to read them and make my own decision. After all, I have to know them better before I can vote for them. In reality, the process is only has the thinnest veneer of democracy, since the number of places on the Politburo Standing Committee, China's equivalent of the Cabinet, will match the number of candidates put forward. Speculative lists of which leaders will make the cut have been circulating for weeks, but the final decision will rest with just a handful of Party elders and current leaders, China's version of the college of cardinals. What Mrs Zhu will be able to witness, however, is how China's elite network and manoeuvre during the week-long Congress. Hundreds of delegates have been filing into the Great Hall of the People to meet in small groups and discuss the future of the Party. In a bid to appear more transparent, the Party opened some of these sessions to the media, one of which proved unexpectedly robust when an 11-year-old reporter for Chinese Teenagers News, Sun Luyuan, asked a pointed question about poisoned foods. "I love snacks, but I don't dare to eat snacks now and neither do my classmates, as there are so many poisoned foods on the market," she asked. So my question to all the minister-level uncles and aunties is: how can we children eat foods without concern? However, while the question momentarily galvanised what was otherwise becoming a soporific affair, Miss Sun got the same stock answer that most other questions got about the government doing it all could to improve things. Overall the proceedings throughout the Congress have been a carefully choreographed affair, with delegates carefully chosen to reflect the party's inclusiveness and breadth. In turn, they make speeches praising the Party, Hu Jintao's leadership and occasionally themselves, sometimes to the annoyance of party bosses. "We will not charge you for that advertisement," said Wang Ying, who is party secretary of Guangdong, as one self-congratulatory delegate spoke. Mr Wang, 57, a powerful and reform-minded party boss, had little time for the display of bowing and scraping by the delegates, openly tapping his fingers impatiently, talking over them and bringing more turgid speeches to an end. "I am so excited to be in Beijing that my heart is pounding in my chest," said Du Xiaojuan, an entrepreneur, gripped by the moment. "Maybe you would feel better if you sat down," Mr Wang responded, drily. However, behind closed doors, and in the comfort of the several state-owned hotels that have been booked out, and carefully guarded, for the delegates, there will be a much more free and easy discussion, according to former attendees. "You can say anything and discuss everything," said one source, who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the event. For Mrs Zhu, it is a golden opportunity to be close to the secret heart of Chinese power, and to boost her own career in the process. But she is determined not to let the honour go to her head. A lot of people believe that delegates are privileged. It has been freezing cold in the last few days and one day, when I was shivering at home, I tweeted a post about it. A lot of people responded, saying all I had to do was let the government know and my problems would be solved. But actually, delegates are not privileged at all.