As usual, the most important bit of the mainland's political event of the year - annual sessions of the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference - came right after their closing.
Premier Wen Jiabao's press conference is the only time every year when he opens the floor and takes questions from a selected dozen overseas and Chinese reporters, supposedly on issues of their interest.
The event, broadcast live on national television, is closely watched at home and abroad, not least because of China's rising economic power and the multitude of domestic challenges it faces.
Wen came fully prepared, displaying his trademark style of using traditional Chinese proverbs and poems, on a wide range of issues from the yuan's stability, to the possibility of the world plunging into recession again, to his personal health.
Curiously enough, although yesterday marked the second anniversary of the deadly riots that swept through Tibet and caused international repercussions over Beijing's policies, Wen was spared any pointed questions on this or any sensitive issue such as human rights or Xinjiang .
It is no secret among journalists accredited to cover Wen's press conference that they have a higher chance of being called on if their questions are vetted beforehand. But that did not prevent overseas correspondents from phrasing one or two questions around those issues at Wen's previous conferences.
For the people outside the mainland, this year's NPC and CPPCC sessions appeared to offer little excitement. Customarily in a gap year without reshuffles, the NPC session would vote and approve by a huge margin Wen's government work report, the budget by the Ministry of Finance and the more detailed economic report by the National Development and Reform Commission, which it did yesterday. The only addition this year was an amendment to the Election Law, also overwhelmingly approved.