The fifth session of the 12th Henan Provincial People's Congress opens on Jan 25. [Photo by Duan Jinzhe and Liu Dongjie / hnr.cn]

The 12th Henan Provincial People's Congress, the provincial legislature, opened its fifth session at Henan Provincial People's Hall in Zhengzhou, provincial capital, on Jan 25.

The number eligible to attend was 938, with an eventual attendance of 877, reaching a quorum.

Guo Gengmao, secretary of Henan Provincial Party Committee, hosts the session. [Photo by Duan Jinzhe and Liu Dongjie / hnr.cn]

Guo Gengmao, secretary of Henan Provincial Party Committee and director of Standing Committee of Henan Provincial People's Congress, hosted the session.

Henan Provincial Governor Xie Fuzhan delivered the annual work report. He said that the year 2015 marked the end of the 12th Five-Year Plan. Xie also said that Henan province had achieved general progress in speeding up growth of major economic indicators under the effort of Henan Provincial Government and Henan Provincial People's Congress.

Xie Fuzhan, provincial governor of Henan people's government, delivers the annual work report. [Photo by Duan Jinzhe and Liu Dongjie / hnr.cn]

According to preliminary accounting, the provincial Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased by 8.3 percent in 2015 compared with 2014, 1.4 percentage points higher than the national level. Fixed-asset investment grew 16.5 percent and total retail sales of consumer goods showed a 12.4 percent increase. Growth of import and export value and the general public budget revenue stood at 16.5 percent and 9.9 percent respectively.

Participants take notes of the government work report at the fifth session of the 12th Henan Provincial People's Congress. [Photo by Duan Jinzhe and Liu Dongjie / hnr.cn]

Edited by Owen Fishwick