Billed as one of the world's most watched programmes, CCTV's daily prime-time news at 7pm, known as Xinwen Lianbo, easily draws as many as 100 million viewers daily, mainly because it is required to be shown simultaneously by most terrestrial television channels on the mainland.
For most of the year, the first 10 to 15 minutes of the programme is dominated by the public activities of the nine members of the Communist Party's Politburo Standing Committee, with the broadcast of news items prioritised by the rankings of the nine rather than the importance of the news. It has become a must-see programme for any China watcher trying to make sense of the mainland's opaque politics.
However, there is an exception to that broadcast routine. For one or two weeks in late July and early August every year, the national leaders habitually disappear from the telecast while they decamp to the summer resort area of Beidaihe in Hebei to escape the stifling heat in Beijing. The annual affair is closely watched at home and overseas, as the officials usually hold informal meetings to discuss and approve important policies and personnel changes.
But state media are forbidden from reporting on those Beidaihe meetings, and for many outsiders, the telltale signs come simply from the absence of CCTV's news items involving the leaders.
This year, the Beidaihe meetings are even more important, as they are the last opportunity for the various factions of current and retired leaders to undertake intense horse trading and decide on the new leadership line-up - namely the composition of the Politburo and the Politburo Standing Committee - to be officially unveiled at the party's 18th congress later this year.
Signs indicate the leaders are already there and the meetings have already started, as there has not been any news involving top national leaders since Saturday. And last night came unmistakable confirmation, with CCTV reporting that Vice President Xi Jinping attended a public meeting in Beidaihe.
In fact, mainland sources said that incumbent or retired leaders and their family members started arriving in Beidaihe late last month.