Interior decorators are busy refurbishing the Great Hall of the People, the seat of China's top legislature in downtown Beijing, before next week's national congress of the Communist Party of China.

A brand-new Party emblem with a diameter of more than five meters will be installed above the platform ahead of the opening of the 17th CPC National Congress next Monday, China News Service reported yesterday.

Other facilities won't appear to change, but the red carpets will be renewed, the news agency quoted an unidentified source as saying.

The Great Hall of the People, also used for annual plenary sessions of the country's top legislature and political advisory body, and where Chinese leaders meet foreign dignitaries, will close to the public from October 8 until the congress ends.

The hall was opened in 1959 by Chairman Mao Zedong as a celebration of the traditional culture of China.

An official Website covering the congress opens today at www.cpcnews.cn.

The Website will publish information about the latest developments, and provide full documents and information about press conferences in Chinese and English.