Fu Ying, the spokesperson for the first plenary session of the 12th National People's Congress, answers reporters' questions related to the preparation work being carried out for the congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 4, 2013. [Photo: gb.cri.cn]

A frugal and environment-friendly session is a key feature at China's 12th National People's Congress, which is scheduled to open on Tuesday. [More about the NPC press conference]

In press briefing on Monday, NPC spokesperson Fu Ying hailed this year's session as a less extravagant one.

"We have strictly controlled the expenditure on this year's session. We have also decorated the conference venues in a simple and environment-friendly way instead of using extravagant decoration materials. We also urged NPC deputies to make to-the-point speeches," said Fu.

Meanwhile, the daily meals for the deputies are under strict budget plan. Traffic control will be reduced and deputies are advocated to take public vehicles than private cars."

This year's NPC session is set to use more electronic documents to reduce paper waste and keep down costs.

Deputies to the session have elected the presidium for the legislative session.

It is the first time NPC deputies have gathered in the Great Hall of the People for the annual session of the national legislature.

Deputies are also expected to elect a new president and prime minister for the country.

The NPC session will finish on March 17th.