"To treat the elderly better today is to treat ourselves better in the future."

Yang Ruihui, 53, from Tongchuan, Shaanxi province, and a delegate to the Party congress, who was laid off from her job as hospital nurse and co-founded a nursing home for the elderly

"Knowledge has changed my own life, so I chose to be a teacher to use knowledge to change the lives of more children who live in remote, mountainous regions."

He Guiqin, a middle school teacher in Guyuan, the Ningxia Hui autonomous region, and a delegate to the Party congress.She often helps children from impoverished families and since 2003 has helped raise more than 1 million yuan ($160,000) for poor students

"Economic development shouldn't be the only thing we put our effort into. We shouldn't make people rich in their wallets but poor in spirit."

Yang Yue, Party secretary of Lengshuigou village, Henan province, and a delegate to the Party congress

"We all retire when we get old. I hope this issue has nothing to do with the monetary policy."

Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People's Bank of China and a delegate to the Party congress, told reporters when asked about his retirement