Preparations are well in hand for the approaching first session of the tenth Shanghai Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the city's top advisory body.

The session will run from tomorrow to February 19, with the opening and closing ceremonies held in the Friendship Hall of the Shanghai Exhibition Center.

There will be 28 assembly rooms for group discussion, located in the Party school of the Shanghai Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and CPPCC Shanghai Committee departments.

More than 1,100 staff members are busy printing and binding the proposals submitted by CPPCC Shanghai Committee members in recent days and ensuring that everything needed for the conference, such as computer systems and audio-visual equipment, is in good working order.

More than 120 journalists from 56 domestic and foreign press units have signed up to cover the conference.

The city will open 11 public transportation lines to facilitate transportation during the five-day session and 22 shuttle buses will be put at the service of members.

The CPPCC Shanghai Committee had received 157 proposals as of yesterday, 89 from democratic parties, 12 from people's communities and 56 from CPPCC Shanghai Committee members.

An updated electronic transmission system was established at the end of last month to help members transmit proposals conveniently.