Shen Jilan, a rural villager in north China's Shanxi Province, was elected deputy to the 12th National People's Congress (NPC), the country's top legislature, on Wednesday.

She and another 69 delegates were chosen at the first session of the 12th Shanxi Provincial People's Congress, the local legislature.

Shen Jilan has developed a wealth of political experience over the past six decades. After holding her elected status as a national model worker from 1952 to 1996, she has now become the only person in China to be consecutively elected as a deputy to the NPC 12 times.

"I will try my very best to do practical things for the people, " the 84 year old told Xinhua here after the session, adding that what she cares about most is building China into a moderately prosperous society, and helping more people get rich.

At the age of 25, Shen broke a millennia-old Chinese convention in the early 1950s by pushing for equality of pay for women, although she found it hard to communicate her concerns to the country's leaders at the time.

"My heart just beat like a drum when I sat there," recalled Shen of her early experiences as an NPC deputy. "Imagine, I was just one of the few 147 female deputies to the then about 1,200-member Congress, everything was fresh to me."

Shen met Chairman Mao in Beijing in 1954, fulfilling the biggest dream for Chinese people at that time. From then on, she frequently shook hands with state leaders, with her palms made course by years of labor.

Over the years, Shen has put forward many proposals relating to agriculture, water conservation and tree planting. Many of her ideas have attracted the attention of the government.

"I'm just a farmer. Whether I'm selected or not depends entirely on others. What I think about most is how to accomplish my work," she told Xinhua when asked about the reasons for her political success.

As a veteran NPC deputy, Shen has her own understanding of what it means to perform in the role.

"I will be be down-to-earth and work for the best interests of the masses, follow the guidelines of the Party and fulfill my duty as a competent NPC deputy," she vowed.

Born in Shanxi's Pingshun County in 1929, Shen was first elected as an NPC deputy in 1954.

"Only if our country develops well, can we have better lives," she believes, stressing that Chinese still need to maintain a spirit of hard work and also be frugal to build the country.