China Post is to issue philatelic products entitled Dongting Lake on May 28, 2022, which consist of 4 pieces of special stamps in one set and one souvenir sheet. The denomination of the whole set of products is 10 yuan. 6.6 million sets of stamps and 5.9 million souvenir sheet will be issued.
This set of stamps are designed by Xu Li, vice president of the China Artists Association, with oil painting techniques to show the representative landscapes of the Dongting Lake. The first picture portrays the beauty and elegance of the emerald Junshan Island. The second picture, composed of the Lingyun Pagoda and wetland scenery including water plants as well as flying birds, shows the sound ecology of the Dongting Lake. The third picture depicts the Chengtoushan ruins where there exists the most ancient and best preserved rice paddy site of its kind ever discovered in the world, which reflects the long prehistoric civilization of the lake area. The fourth picture displays the splendor of Sanjiangkou, the Dongting Lake’s entrance into the Yangtze River, where a great many barges are vying forward on the broad water. The souvenir sheet depicts the wide-angle picture of the Dongting Lake with the Yueyang Tower, the vast water and green trees that underscore the profound cultural heritage and breathtaking scenery of the lake area.
The stamps are printed by Beijing Stamp Printing House Company Limited. The offset printing technology makes the overall colors saturated and bright, and the colorless white fluorescent ink makes the lake water appear clearer and more glamorous under ultraviolet light. The souvenir sheet is printed with photogravure technology, which helps enrich the layering of the design and make the colors even brighter; while the pearlescent blue spot-color printing not only enhances its sense of reality, but also conduces to the anti-counterfeit efforts; and the colorless fluorescent ink enables pearlescent blue color to produce white fluorescence and red color to produce red fluorescence, which further contributes to the vivid presentation of elegant lake and architecture.
The set of stamps will be available for six months at the designated postal outlets nationwide, online mall of China Philately (https://jiyou.11185.cn), the mobile app of China Post, the WeChat Mall for philatelic products in the official WeChat account and the WeChat mini program of China Post Group. To present more information about the stamps, China Post will release their digital contents through the WeChat mini program “Encyclopedia of China Philately and Stamps”, where viewers can learn more about the stamps via its AR function.
China Post is to issue a set of six special stamps entitled Prosperous Suzhou on May 18, 2022. The denomination of the stamps is 7.40 yuan, and 7.3 million sets of such stamps are planned to be issued. In addition, 200,000 copies of long scroll stamp folders will be issued.
The painting Prosperous Suzhou, ink and color on paper, 1,241 cm in length and 36.5 cm in width, is currently housed in the Liaoning Provincial Museum. The painting was completed in 1759 during the reign of Emperor Qianlong (1735-1796). Painted in hand scroll format with cavalier perspective painting methods, the entire piece vividly illustrates the urban life of Suzhou during the High Qing era, with thriving businesses, countless merchants and various goods. It is hailed as another magnificent long scroll in the history of traditional Chinese painting after Along the River During the Qingming Festival painted in the Song Dynasty. The whole scroll depicts meticulously the local conditions and customs in the southern regions of the Yangtze River, including the landscape of lakes and hills, cottages and gardens, city wall and its gates, ancient ferries and rowing boats, towns along the river, houses by the water, folk customs, government offices and shops of all trades, all of which reflect vividly the prosperity of Suzhou in the mid-18th century with picturesque scenery, abundant resources, trades flourishing and talents gathering. Therefore, it holds extremely high historical and artistic value.
This set of stamps is designed by Xing Wenwei with horizontal layout in order to showcase the exquisite and magnificent features of this old masterpiece painting. With simple and elegant overall design, the designer fully reproduces the artistic conception of the original painting, and creates a unique visual effect.
This set of stamps is printed with offset printing technology by the Anti-counterfeit and Secret-keeping Technology Printing Company of Henan Province.
The stamps will be available for six months at designated postal outlets nationwide, online mall of China Philately, the mobile app of China Post, the WeChat Mall for philatelic products in the official WeChat account and the WeChat mini program of China Post Group. To present more information about the stamps, China Post will release the digital contents through the WeChat mini program “Encyclopedia of China Philately and Stamps”, where philatelists can learn more about the stamps via its AR function.
China Post is to issue a set of 2 commemorative stamps entitled The 100th Anniversary of the Founding of the Communist Youth League of China on May 5, 2022. The designs of the stamps are respectively named “Following the Party Forever” and “Pledging to the Party to Make My Country Strong”. The denomination of the stamps is 2 yuan, and 7.3 million sets of such stamps are planned to be issued.
The Communist Youth League of China (hereinafter referred to as CYLC) is a people’s group organization of forward-thinking young people under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC); it is a school for vast numbers of young people to learn through practice about socialism with Chinese characteristics and about communism; it is an aide to and reserve force of the Party. The May 4th Movement breaking out in 1919 when China as a nation was on the edge of peril prepared ideological and organizational conditions for the establishment of the CPC and CYLC, opened a new era of the Chinese youth movement, and marked a new epoch that the Chinese youth group stepped onto the social and historical stage. Under the direct concern and leadership of the CPC, the first National Congress of the Chinese Socialist Youth League was held in Guangzhou from May 5 to May 10, 1922. With the convening of the first congress of the CYLC, the Chinese Socialist Youth League realized complete unity in both ideology and organization, and became a national progressive youth league consistent with the CPC in terms of political program and goals. As a result, the Chinese Youth League was officially born, which is a milestone in the history of the development of the Chinese youth movement. In the past 100 years, the Chinese youth movement has been vigorously advancing. All the League members have consistently played the role of a fresh driving force and the spearhead in the periods of the New Democratic Revolution (1919-1949), the socialist revolution and reconstruction (1949-1978), the reform, opening up and socialist modernization, and the new era of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
This set of stamps is designed by Chang Shana and Zhang Lei. Chang Shana, a famous art and design educator, art designer and once the head of the former Central Academy of Arts Design (currently the Academy of Arts and Design, Tsinghua University), is the main creator of the emblem of the CYLC. Zhang Lei, an associate professor of the Arts and Science Research Center of Tsinghua University, has designed many sets of special and commemorative stamps such as “Teachers’ Day”, “Beginning of New Millennium: Stride into 21st Century”.
The first stamp “Following the Party Forever” takes the Party emblem and the League flag as its main body, with the League flag closely following the Party emblem, and is complemented with the figure “100” and the silhouettes of young men from all walks of life, underlining the political orientation of the CYLC closely following the CPC. The second stamp “Pledging to the Party to Make My Country Strong” takes the emblem of the CYLC as its main body, complete with the figure “100” as well as the bullet train, rocket, skyscrapers and other elements, symbolizing the lofty sentiments and aspirations of all League members for making contributions to building a prosperous China and achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
The stamps are printed by the Anti-counterfeit and Secret-keeping Technology Printing Company of Henan Province with the technology of offset intaglio.
The set of stamps will be available for 6 months at designated postal outlets nationwide, online mall of China Philately (https://jiyou.11185.cn), the mobile app of China Post, the WeChat Mall for philatelic products in the official WeChat account and the WeChat mini program of China Post Group. To present more information about the stamps, China Post will release the digital contents through the WeChat mini program “Encyclopedia of China Philately and Stamps”, where philatelists can learn more about the stamps via its AR function.
China Post is to issue a set of seven special stamps entitled Natural World Heritage—South China Karst on April 28, 2022. The designs of stamps consist of Shilin Karst, Libo Karst, Wulong Karst, Guilin Karst, Shibing Karst, Jinfoshan Karst and Huanjiang Karst. The denomination of the stamps is 8.40 yuan, and 5.9 million sets of such stamps are planned to be issued.
China has the largest area of karst landforms in the world, distributing from tropical to cold temperate zones, from humid to arid areas. It also has the most comprehensive variety of karst landforms, which not only manifest miraculous landscapes, but also the complex evolution history of such landforms. South China Karst includes 7 karst clusters—Shilin Karst, Libo Karst, Wulong Karst, Guilin Karst, Shibing Karst, Jinfoshan Karst and Huanjiang Karst, and was inscribed on the Natural World Heritage List in 2 phases in 2007 and 2014.
Shilin Karst is in Shilin Yi autonomous county of Kunming city, Yunnan province. Composed mainly of karst landscape and famous for its magnificence, uniqueness, dangerous terrains, elegance, secluded environment, mysteriousness, and vastness, Shilin is the world’s only karst landscape in the subtropical plateau region and has the most peculiar karst landform, thereby enjoying a high reputation in the field of geoscience in the world.
Libo Karst, located in Libo county of Guizhou province, is characterized by its fengcong (cone) and fenglin (tower) karst formations. There are concentrated indigenous karst forests in the area. With dense woods and running streams integrated with the mountains, water, caves, waterfalls and rocks created by karst landform, this area embraces special karst forest ecosystem and significant biodiversity.
Located in Wulong district of Chongqing municipality, Wulong Karst comprises three independent karst zones: Furong Cave, Three Natural Bridges and Houping Giant Doline (Houping Tiankeng), among which the three natural karst stone arch bridges—Tianlong bridge, Qinglong bridge and Heilong bridge are the largest natural bridge cluster in Asia.
Located in Yangshuo county, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, Guilin Karst is typical of fenglin and fengcong karst landforms, and boasts internationally acclaimed fenglin riverine landscapes. The vast area, beautiful shape, height and density of fenglin in Guilin rank first in the world. Together with the imposing stalagmites, stone columns and stalactites in caves, the picturesque landscapes of Guilin are formed featuring magical mountains, enchanting rivers, bizarre caves and magnificent rocks.
Shibing Karst is in Shibing county of Guizhou province. With steep mountains and towering peaks, it shows the unique and spectacular fengcong landscape of dolomite karst in tropical and subtropical zones, and fills the gap of dolomite category in the evolution of South China Karst.
Located in Nanchuan district of Chongqing municipality, Jinfoshan Karst has magnificent mountains and charming scenery. It is well known for its typical karst table mountain, ancient high-altitude caves, colorful surface karst landscapes, rich biodiversity and ancient Natrii Sulfas preparation history, which makes it unique in South China Karst, but also tops the karst table mountains in the world.
Situated in Huanjiang Maonan autonomous county of Hechi city, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, Huanjiang Karst contains outstanding fengcong features and is a karst region in which survives the largest, most intact and most pristine karst forest in the world. Huanjiang Karst is a natural extension of Libo Karst. Together the two sites preserve the complete transition from plateau karst to low mountain and fengcong karst, and reflect a complete and unique karst evolution process, thus possessing immeasurable aesthetic and scientific value.
Designed by Yang Wenqing, the stamps adopt western-style painting techniques. While highlighting the characteristics of South China Karst, appropriate artistic exaggeration and trade-offs are made to ensure the compliance with the rules of science and the aesthetics as well. Full in composition, rich and harmonious in colors, and magnificent in sights, this set of stamps present the unique natural beauty of South China Karst.
The stamps are printed with photogravure technology by Beijing Stamp Printing House Company Limited. The six-color high screen ruling printing facilitates the full presentation of the features of South China Karst and the reconstruction of the original painting style. With bi-colored anti-counterfeiting fluorescence ink of yellow and red, the pictures of stamps become more vivid and three-dimensional when observed under ultraviolet light.
The set of stamps will be available for 6 months at designated postal outlets nationwide, online mall of China Philately (https://jiyou.11185.cn), the mobile app of China Post, the WeChat Mall for philatelic products in the official WeChat account and the WeChat mini program of China Post Group. To present more information about the stamps, China Post will release the digital contents through the WeChat mini program “Encyclopedia of China Philately and Stamps”, where philatelists can learn more about the stamps via its AR function.
The year 2022 marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Mexico. China Post is to issue a set of two commemorative stamps entitled The 50th Anniversary of China-Mexico Diplomatic Relations on February 14, 2022. The pictures of the stamps are Astro Observatory and Kukulcan Pyramid respectively. The face value of the whole set is 2.40 yuan and the planned circulation is 6.7 million sets.
The Astro Observatory, situated in Gaocheng town, Dengfeng, Henan Province, was built in the early Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) under the supervision of astronomer Guo Shoujing. As the oldest and well protected observatory in China, it enjoys significant value in the history of world astronomy and architecture and highlights the outstanding achievements of ancient Chinese scientists in astronomy. In 2010, the Historic Monuments of Dengfeng in “The Centre of Heaven and Earth”, including the Astro Observatory, was added to the World Cultural Heritage List. Located in the north of Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, Kukulcan Pyramid is one of the important sites and considered the acme of Mayan civilization in Mexico. Kukulkan is known as the incarnation of the sun in the Mayan culture, that is, the Sun God. In 1988, the Pre-Hispanic City of Chichen Itza, with the Kukulkan Pyramid as its landmark, was included on the World Heritage List.
The photograph of each building is displayed on the stamps respectively. In the center of the first stamp is the Astro Observatory, with symbol graphic indicating all directions surrounding it, which echoes the concept of “the Centre of Heaven and Earth”. The Kukulkan Pyramid on the second stamp is consistent in composition with the Astro Observatory on the first one, with the symbol graphic of the sun as its background. Dengfeng Astro Observatory and the Kukulcan Pyramid, more than a thousand years apart, are artistically presented on the jointly issued stamps, which symbolizes the dialogue between the important cultural heritage of China and Mexico and offers inspirations to both Chinese civilization and Mayan civilization.
The set of stamps is designed by Ma Lihang, and printed with photogravure technology by Beijing Stamp Printing House Company Limited. In line with the theme of the stamps, the Chinese characters on the stamp of the Astro Observatory is printed with super bright silver ink, and colorless white fluorescence is used on the background halo and stars to highlight the night scene effect. At the same time, special star-shaped perforations are adopted accordingly. The stamp of the Kukulcan Pyramid uses super bright golden ink to display the Chinese characters, and colorless orange fluorescence to highlight the background of the sun's radiance. Its perforations are shaped as the sun accordingly.
The set of stamps will be put on sale for a period of six months at the designated outlets of China Post, the philatelic mall online, the app of China Post, the philatelic shop of micro post office on WeChat and the WeChat mini program. To present more information about the stamps, China Post will release their digital content through the WeChat mini program “Encyclopedia of China Philately and Stamps”, where stamp collectors can learn more about the stamps via its AR function.
On Feburary 4, 2022, China Post is to issue 2 commemorative stamps entitled In Commemoration of the Opening Ceremony of the XXIV Olympic Winter Games in one set, the designs of which are respectively named “Together for a Shared Future” and “The Light of Hope”. The denomination of the stamps is 2.40 yuan, and 11.5 million sets of such stamps are planned to be issued.
The XXIV Olympic Winter Games will be held during February 4 to 20 in Beijing and Zhangjiakou. This is the third time for China to hold Olympic games after the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics and the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games. Beijing, therefore, becomes the first “Dual Olympic City” with both Summer and Winter Olympics in the history of the Games. Since 2017, China Post has issued 18 pieces of commemorative stamps in 5 sets, 2 pieces of special stamps for personalized service in one set and 3 sets of ordinary prepaid envelopes and postcards on the theme of Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games.
Designed by Wang Huming, this set of stamps take white and blue as the main colors to highlight the concept of grand winter sports. The designs of the stamps transform the rich and dynamic audio-visual language on the opening ceremony into a graphic language. Through the deconstruction and reorganization of the three-dimensional space and time span, the classic elements of the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics are presented in a two-dimensional plane, reflecting the design philosophy of “the moment is eternal”. The overall pictures of the stamps are concise and exquisite, manifesting an ethereal, elegant and modern sense of design, coinciding with the philosophy of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Winter Games.
The stamps are printed with offset printing technology by Henan Posts and Telecommunications Printing House Company Limited to underline the elements of ice and snow in Olympic Winter Games. The first picture “Together for a Shared Future” uses the technologies of holographic cat eye and laser embossing. When the stamp is turned, the colorful changes of the Winter Olympics emblem and the Chinese knot can be seen vividly. The second picture “The light of Hope” integrates holographic cold foil stamping with other technologies to highlight the three-dimensional snowflake and flickering flame. Under illumination, the picture becomes rich and dynamic, showing a sense of modernity and high-tech.
The set of stamps will be available for 6 months from February 4 at designated postal outlets nationwide, online mall of China Philately (https://jiyou.11185.cn), the mobile app of China Post, the WeChat Mall for philatelic products in the official WeChat account and the WeChat mini program of China Post Group. Among others, the sales at postal outlets on February 4 will be carried out through online channels such as the online mall https://jiyou.11185.cn, and offline sales will not be conducted that day. To present more information about the stamps, China Post will release the digital contents through the WeChat mini program “Encyclopedia of China Philately and Stamps”, where philatelists can learn more about the stamps via its AR function.
On January 1, China Post is to issue 1 piece of commemorative stamp entitled RCEP Taking Effect with the denomination of 1.20 yuan and the planned circulation of 6.8 million sets.
The ASEAN Secretariat, the official depository for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), released the announcement on November 2, 2021, that six member countries of the ASEAN, including Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, and 4 non-ASEAN countries involving China, Japan, New Zealand and Australia, had formally submitted their RCEP ratification, meeting the conditions for the deal to enter into force in those 10 countries on January 1, 2022. RCEP, as a modern, comprehensive, high-quality and mutually beneficial mega regional free trade agreement, is the most significant achievement of economic integration in East Asia in the past 20 years. Officially signed on November 15, 2020, RCEP has become the world’s largest free trade zone with 15 member countries, accounting for 30% of the world total in regard to its total population, economic size and trade volume. The entry into force of the agreement will play a key role in further promoting regional free trade, stabilizing industrial and supply chains as well as boosting the high-level opening-up of China.
The set of stamp takes “RCEP”, the abbreviation of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, as the main element, with these four letters being composed of different blocks of colors. The background of the picture consists of simple and upward dynamic lines and is supplemented by such elements as building clusters and the Earth, symbolizing economic growth and urban prosperity, and implying that the entry into force of RCEP will have positive effects on its member states. The whole picture, in concise design, highlights its theme properly.
The stamp is designed by Yu Qiuyan and printed by Beijing Stamp Printing House Company Limited in photogravure technology.
The set of stamps will be available for 6 months at designated postal outlets nationwide, online mall of China Philately (https://jiyou.11185.cn), the mobile app of China Post, the WeChat Mall for philatelic products in the official WeChat account and the WeChat mini program of China Post Group. To present more information about the stamp, China Post will release the digital contents through the WeChat mini program “Encyclopedia of China Philately and Stamps”, where philatelists can learn more about the stamp via its AR function.
On January 5, 2022, China Post is going to issue a set of 2 Year of Renyin special stamps, entitled respectively National Prosperity and Auspicious Tigers, with a denomination of 2.40 yuan a set. The planned circulation is 40.4 million pieces for stamp 1, 38.8 million pieces for stamp 2, 2.3 million for layout 2 and 4.8 million for the stamp booklets.
The year 2022 is the Year of Renyin in the lunar calendar or the Year of Tiger in the Chinese zodiac calendar. Known as the "king of beasts", the tiger is a symbol of valor and strength. In ancient times, there were tiger-shaped tallies for the dispatch of troops in ancient China, and there are also such sayings as "tiger general", "tiger warriors", “tiger walk" and "tiger squat", all of which signify power and glory. The Chinese folks regard the tiger as an auspicious beast that helps people to keep right, drive away evil spirits and bless peace. From the custom of drawing the tiger on the door to the charming cloth tiger toys, the influence of the rich and colorful culture around the tiger has penetrated into people's life and customs. The love for tigers has a unique place in the Chinese cultural complex, where rests the Chinese people's hard working spirit and wish for good luck and peace.
The set of Year of Renyin special stamps is the seventh in the fourth round of the Chinese zodiac stamps, which is created by Mr. Feng Dazhong, a famous painter. Feng Dazhong, a national first-class artist, has enjoyed the special government allowance from the State Council since 1992. He is famous for painting tigers and also an expert in other types of painting like landscapes, flowers. He used to be president of China Hue Art Association, vice director of National Painting and Calligraphy Art Committee of Chinese Artists Association, vice president of Chinese Painting Association, director of Chinese Artists Association, member of Chinese Writers Association and president of Liaoning Senior Artists Association.
The image of the tiger in the Year of Renyin special stamp starts from the "reality", catches the nature of the tiger, and meticulously interprets the beauty of the tiger. The stamps carry on the philosophy of the fourth round of Chinese zodiac stamps and illustrate the ideas of the "country" and "family". The first stamp depicts a majestic tiger, standing on the mountain and upright looking into the distance with lofty goals in mind, which conveys the meaning of a thriving and ambitious country. The second stamp depicts a heartwarming scene of a mild-faced tiger mother with two cubs, which implies a prosperous and happy family.
This set of stamps is printed with the offset intaglio technology, engraved by Yuan Yishan and Liu Minghui, and printed by Beijing Stamp Printing House Company Limited.
The stamp booklet is designed by Wang Huming. With creative originality and through the depiction of both shape and spirit of the zodiac tiger image, the booklet wonderfully presents the philosophy of "national prosperity" and "auspices tiger". In addition, the booklet presents breakthroughs in five aspects: the display of color overlay for the first time, the use of block of stamps in the booklet for the first time, the use of foldout pages from both left and right side for the first time, a fluorescent anti-counterfeiting code for each stamp for the first time and the use of tactile oil varnishing technique for the first time.
This set of stamps will be on sale for a period of six months at the designated outlets of China Post, the online mall of China Philately, the mobile app of China Post and the philatelic shop of micro post office on WeChat. To display the rich contents of the stamps, China Post releases digital information through the WeChat applet called Encyclopedia of China Philately and Stamps, where viewers can learn more about the stamps via its AR function.