People gather at Tiananmen Square during the opening ceremony of the National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Thousands of delegates from across China were meeting this week to seal a power transfer to new leaders whose first months running the Communist Party have pumped up expectations with a deluge of propaganda.

The National People’s Congress completes the leadership power transition initiated four months ago, approving top government appointments and giving the new leaders a platform to lay out policies. China's government promised its people to fight deep-seated corruption, to improve the despoiled environment and address other quality-of-life issues demanded by an increasingly vocal public looking for change.  —Photos and texts by Agencies