Liu's proposals are based on his experience in 30 years of management and over 20 years of field research across China. Elected in 1993 as a CPPCC national committee member, Liu has traveled to nearly all of the country's major agricultural regions, giving him the background he has needed to make three or four proposals at every annual session.

As the annual sessions of the NPC and the CPPCC draw near, over 2,900 NPC deputies and 2,200-plus CPPCC national committee members will gather in Beijing, bringing with them bills and proposals derived from the demands of the public.

Zhuo Fumin lives in a village not far from Yang's own village. Zhuo, a vegetable farmer, does not know Yang or Liu, but he has shown great interest in the upcoming sessions.

Zhuo is a member of a village agricultural union, a voluntary coalition of local vegetable growers that helps organize and improve agricultural production. When Zhuo was told that Liu plans to promote agricultural unions nationwide as a CPPCC member, he said he couldn't agree more with the political advisor.

"It makes things much easier for me. In the union, we've got people overlooking seed purchases, planting and sales," Zhuo said, pausing a moment before inquiring, "would it be possible for someone to mention that my granddaughter has to walk one hour to school because the school bus does not stop by my house?"

Zhuo was happy to hear that his concern is one of many being addressed by Yang's recommendations.

Different from their counterparts in Western countries who serve full time, lawmakers in China only serve part-time. It is often a challenge for them to balance their jobs and their lawmaking duties.

Many lawmakers go door-to-door to solicit opinions, while others set aside specific days for receiving constituents. A growing number of legislators have opened their own microblog accounts in the wake of the social media boom.

Although experts have conceded that microblogs are a useful way to solicit public opinions, the country's 400 million-strong Internet "population" is still not enough to represent the entire country, indicating that door-to-door visits and other forms of interaction are still necessary.

Han Xiancong, a NPC deputy from central China's Anhui province, said social conflicts that have arisen during the process of economic development make it especially important to seek out "grassroots" opinions during the legislative process.

Last September, Han, also the Party secretary of the city of Chuzhou, joined a six-month campaign that required Party secretaries in the province to visit villages, enterprises, urban communities and schools to identify public complaints. They were asked to take note of the complaints and announce a timetable for addressing them.

"The visits were very helpful. Unless we talk to the people, we will not be able to know their complaints. If so, the people will not trust us. A government that cannot be trusted by its people is in great danger," said Han.

Hu Angang, an economist from Tsinghua University, said there is no precedent for the governance of a country with a population of 1.3 billion people. However, he said, it's still possible for 5,000 lawmakers and political advisors to represent the interests and demands of China's people, as long as they earnestly fulfill their duties in accordance with the law.