Liu Sanjie, the third sister of the Liu family, is a legendary folk song singer of the Zhuang people. Her story has become widely known in Guangxi and a lot of places in the south of the “Five Ranges.” According to legend, Liu Sanjie lived in a Zhuang village of the Tang Dynasty (618-907). She spoke eloquently and had a melodious voice. A local rich man called Mo Huairen coveted her beauty and talent, wanting to have her as his concubine. He sent three educated men, trying to beat her in antiphonal singing, but to no avail. Because Liu Sanjie and her beloved A’niu met under a big banyan tree and vowed to live together for a lifelong time. Later, Mo Huairen colluded with the corrupt local government, forbidding people to sing folk songs and trying to arrest Liu Sanjie, who then jumped into the pond, rose to heaven on a carp and became an immortal. The story of Liu Sanjie who sang for freedom and fought for dignity reflects the Zhuang people’s pursuit of truth, goodness and beauty in their long song-loving tradition.

China National Philatelic Corporation will issue two FDCs and a commemorative cancellation respectively.

The Silk Road was an ancient transportation thoroughfare linking China with the West. It started from Chang’an (now Xi’an) and Luoyang, capital cities of the Han (206 BC-25 AD) and Tang (618-907) dynasties, and extended westward to the Roman Empire and North Africa and southward to India, via China’s Shaanxi, Ningxia, Gansu, Qinghai, and Xinjiang. The interlinking trade routes cover many countries in Central and Southern Asia, North Africa, and Eastern Europe.

China National Philatelic Corporation will issue a FDC, a souvenir sheet cover and a commemorative cancellation respectively.

The National Museum of China (NMC) is located on the east side of Tiananmen Square in Beijing, facing the Great Hall of the People. Its predecessor was the Preparatory Office of the National Museum of History, established on July 9, 1912. Covering a floor space of nearly 200,000 square meters and housing a collection of 1.2 million cultural relics and artworks, NMC is a comprehensive museum that features world-class facilities, focuses on both history and art, and integrates collection, exhibition, research, archaeology, public education, and cultural communication. Over the past century, it has played an active and vital role in protecting Chinese cultural heritage, displaying the time-honored history of China, spreading Chinese civilization, providing patriotism education, promoting cultural exchange with other countries and regions, and demonstrating the soft power of Chinese culture.

China National Philatelic Corporation will issue a FDC and a commemorative cancellation respectively.

The year 2012 marks the 70th anniversary of "Talks at the Yan'an Forum on Literature and Art" (hereinafter referred to as "Talks"). In May 1942, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) held a forum on literature and art in Yan'an, Shaanxi Province. At the forum, Mao Zedong made a conclusion speech, which clarified the orientation of "(literature and art) serving the broad masses, particularly workers, peasants and soldiers." As an important theoretical document, the "Talks" carried forward the essence of left-wing literature while establishing a new democratic culture. It creatively solved the problem of popularization and nationalization of literature and art since the May 4th Movement. Its statements regarding the orientation of "serving the broad masses, particularly workers, peasants and soldiers" and the practical principle "social life is the only source of literature and art" have remained dynamic in theory and instructive in practice.

China National Philatelic Corporation will issue two FDCs, a souvenir sheet cover and a commemorative cancellation respectively.