China gets a new leader Images

New leaders emerge in China but once a decade. The 18th Party Congress concluded with the ascension of Xi Jinping to the top leadership posts. The meeting in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing's Tiananmen Square drew delegates to formalize the power transfer and led citizens to wait for news. Pictured here are scenes from inside the gathering, and from outside the hall as China anticipated the next ruler of the largest country on earth. -- Lane Turner (34 photos total)

A passenger watches a television screen showing Xi Jinping on a subway train in Shanghai on November 15, 2012. Xi vowed to fight official corruption and build a "better life" for the nation's 1.3 billion people. (Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images)

The closing ceremony of the Party Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing wraps up on November 14, 2012. (Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images) 

Party representatives vote during the closing of the 18th Communist Party Congress at the Great Hall of the People on November 14, 2012 in Beijing. (Lintao Zhang/Getty Images) 

Chinese singer Peng Liyuan, wife of new leader Xi Jingping, performs at the debut of 'Road to Revival' at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on September 20, 2009. China's next first lady Peng Liyuan is a dazzling singer whose profile long eclipsed that of her husband, Xi Jinping, and who will bring a touch of glamour to a role hidden in the shadows for decades. (Imaginechina/AFP/Getty Images) 

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Young Pioneers attend class after the weekly flag-raising ceremony at the East Experimental School in Shanghai November 5, 2012. Created in 1949, the Young Pioneers movement is considered a seedbed for future members of the Chinese Communist Party, and consists of children between the ages of six and 14. (Carlos Barria/Reuters) #

Guards patrol an exhibition entitled "Scientific Development and Splendid Achievements" before the18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China on October 31, 2012 in Beijing. (Feng Li/Getty Images) 

Attendants ready tea before the 18th Communist Party Congress at the Great Hall of the People on November 8, 2012 in Beijing. (Lintao Zhang/Getty Images) 

Delegates wait before the opening ceremony of 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on November 8, 2012. (Jason Lee/Reuters) 

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Tourists walk beside an illuminated screen in Tiananmen Square next to the Great Hall of the People, site of the Party Congress in Beijing on November 10, 2012. (Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images) #

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Cartoon characters of Chinese police decorate Tiananmen Square in Beijing on November 13, 2012. (Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images) #

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Two soldiers dressed as ushers guard a meeting of the opening session of the 18th Communist Party Congress at the Great Hall of the People on November 9, 2012 in Beijing. (Feng Li/Getty Images) #

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A scientist delegate yawns on stage during the closing session of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China inside the Great Hall of the People on November 14, 2012 in Beijing. (Feng Li/Getty Images) #

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A university student poses in front of an emblem for the CPC at the new South Lake Revolution Memorial Hall in Jiaxing, Zhejiang province on November 4, 2012. (Stringer/Reuters) #

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A worker cleans near a poster of Mao Zedong at a thermal power plant in Nanjie village of Luohe city in Henan province on September 25, 2012. (Jason Lee/Reuters) #

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Security cameras flank the giant portrait of Mao Zedong in Tiananmen Square on November 11, 2012. (David Gray/Reuters) #

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A portrait of Mao Zedong decorates the entrance to a bookstore in Hong Kong selling books that are banned in mainland China on November 6, 2012. Books banned in China had been flying off the shelves in Hong Kong in the run-up to China's leadership transition as mainland people seek insight into the decision makers who will run their country. (Bobby Yip/Reuters) #

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The Great Hall of the People is reflected in the window of a bus as a delegate leaves after a meeting in Beijing on November 9, 2012. (Carlos Barria/Reuters) #

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Hotel guides pose for a photo with a paramilitary policeman standing guard on Tiananmen Square near the Great Hall of the People on November 8, 2012. (David Gray/Reuters) #

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An actor playing a Communist soldier rests during filming of the Chinese television program 'Chu Guan', or 'To Get Out of the Stronghold', at an outdoor film studio located on the outskirts of Beijing on September 13, 2012. China's TV channels were devoted to state-approved fare for the duration of the Communist Party's once-in-five-years congress. (David Gray/Reuters) #

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Acrobats perform during an event celebrating the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in Hangzhou on October 19, 2012. (Chance Chan/Reuters) #

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Visitors enjoy Tiananmen Square on November 6, 2012 in Beijing. (Feng Li/Getty Images) #

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A boy passes a photograph of China's first aircraft carrier while visiting an exhibition entitled "Scientific Development and Splendid Achievements" on October 30, 2012 in Beijing. (Feng Li/Getty Images) #

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Staff pose for pictures inside the Great Hall of the People during President Hu Jintao's speech at the opening ceremony of 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in Beijing on November 8, 2012. (Carlos Barria/Reuters) #

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Drivers of government cars chat in a parking lot inside the Great Hall of the People during the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China on November 8, 2012. (Carlos Barria/Reuters) #

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A man rides his bicycle around the Forbidden City in Beijing early on November 6, 2012. (Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images) #

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A woman looks out across the Forbidden City and the Beijing skyline early on November 6, 2012. (Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images) #

Local elderly residents with red armbands, identifying them as security volunteers, chat as they watch over a traditional alleyway, or Hutong, in central Beijing on November 6, 2012. (Jason Lee/Reuters) 

A portrait of Mao Zedong is displayed in the shopping area of Qianmen, near Tiananmen Square, in Beijing on November 13, 2012. (Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images) 

A man walks down a hutong, a traditional small alley, near the Great Hall of the People on November 13, 2012. The many hutongs located close to the Great Hall had been decorated with flags for the duration of the congress. (David Gray/Reuters) 

Tiananmen Gate in Beijing reflects in a puddle on November 10, 2012. (Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images) 

People watch a news broadcast showing Xi Jinping at the 18th Communist Party Congress at a crossroads in Shanghai on November 8, 2012. (Aly Song/Reuters) 

Customers at a restaurant watch the newly-elected Xi Jinping speaking at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on November 15, 2012. (David Gray/Reuters) 

85 year-old Cheng Jikang watches Xi Jinping deliver a speech in his home in Shanghai's northern district of Zhabei on November 15, 2012. (Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images) 

Chinese painter Luo Jianhui draws a portrait of incoming Chinese leader Xi Jinping in his studio in Guangzhou on November 1, 2012. (Tyrone Siu/Reuters)