Luck is something that is hard to explain.

Having missed being on the reporting front line of the two sessions last year due to my pregnancy, I made a return on Sunday to the biggest annual political event in China.

And my purpose was clear - to raise a question on behalf of China Daily at the first news conference of the fifth session of the 11th National People's Congress.

It was challenging, especially since the news conference room, in what is known as the "golden hall" on the third floor of the Great Hall of the People, was packed with about 500 reporters.

Catching the attention of the host, who selects which reporters ask questions, was not an easy job. I sat in the seventh row of seats to the right of the host, about 30 meters away from the platform. And my gray suit (I had chosen a dark color to make myself look slimmer) did not make me stand out.

However, because I've covered the NPC for quite a few years, my face probably looked familiar to many media officials there, including the host. In the past, I had been lucky.

And so I was again on Sunday. I sat up straight throughout the conference so that the host could see my face and watch me raise my hand repeatedly. My efforts were not in vain.

I got to ask the seventh question. I stood up immediately, turned around to accept the microphone, and, having made sure that it was on, went on to pose my question. I was a bit nervous, but the situation was manageable.

The question was about China's electoral system. The election of new deputies to people's congresses at county and township levels has been going on across the country since last year. It's the first election since the amended Electoral Law was passed in 2010.

So I wondered what the difference was between this round of elections and previous ones, and whether it would be possible to expand direct elections.

At present, deputies to people's congresses at county and township levels are directly elected by residents, and deputies to people's congresses at provincial and municipal levels are elected by legislative bodies at the lower levels.

There have been calls by some scholars to expand the direct election system.

Actually, I was a bit afraid that the question might be too sensitive for such an important political occasion, but the spokesman did not look irritated at all. In fact, the spokesman, former foreign minister Li Zhaoxing, is known for being open to sensitive questions.

He said the current election system of deputies to the NPC fits into China's reality, and the system is written into China's Constitution, which implies that a change might not take place anytime soon.

Though I hoped he would say a bit more about it, he quickly wrapped up his answer and took the next question.

Actually, I should have felt very satisfied. After the 10th question, the host announced the end of the news conference. Dozens of reporters who failed to get their chance to raise a question rushed to the platform, trying to block the spokesman's way.

A female reporter, dressed conspicuously in a white suit, even climbed onto the table on the platform. Many other reporters pushed and shoved, knocked over flowerpots and even pushed the long table aside.

I was trying to get into the media crowd to ask another question about China's death penalty system. After feeling a few sharp elbows from photographers and reporters, I gave up and watched the group move slowly, almost rolling like a ball, toward the exit of the hall and then disperse.

A reporter who was in the center of the crowd told me later that the spokesman, though smiling, had said nothing.

And so the curtain was raised on this annual political event. I found returning to the reporting front line of the media war both familiar and exciting.

And my appearance on live TV again reminded me, a new mother, of the need to lose some weight.