As delegates to the National People’s Congress dip into the world of Twitter-like microblogging, the Chinese public is getting a rare glimpse inside the workings, and nonworkings, of power.

For the first time, some of the almost 3,000 delegates are posting brief online messages from behind the scenes as they shuttle between vast, largely immobile meetings and their hotels, sealed off from the public with police tape.

China’s political workings are so controlled and opaque that some Chinese don’t know who their delegates are. But some representatives are now being scrutinized, sucked into chats with netizens and even breaking news on the social network, where anyone can post notes of up to 140 characters and choose which people to ‘follow,’ or get updates from.

‘Beauty Fashion’ magazine publisher Zhang Xiaomei is a member of the NPC’s sister advisory congress, also now meeting in Beijing. People digging into her microblog posts before the session started discovered her advice, above, on surviving meetings.

‘When people in the meeting talk on and on, you can take the chance to make your mind and body more healthy,’ she wrote. ‘The longer the meeting is, the more you benefit.’