2021 marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between People’s Republic of China and Islamic Republic of Pakistan. To enhance the mutual understanding and friendship between the two sides, China Post decides to jointly issue a set of two commemorative stamps entitled 70th Anniversary of China-Pakistan Diplomatic Ties with Pakistan on May 21, 2021. The design of one of the stamps is Zhuhai Port and the other Gwadar Port. The denomination of the stamps is 2.4 yuan and 7.1 million sets are planned to be issued.

Zhuhai Port of China and Gwadar Port of Pakistan are chosen as the designs of the two stamps respectively. Zhuhai Port, as one of 24 pivotal ports in China’s coastline and 5 main ports in Guangdong Province, adjacent to Hongkong and Macao, enjoys the largest 150,000 DWT main navigation channel in the Pearl River Delta and the comprehensive logistic system combining the riverway, seaway, highway, railway and airway. It is an important port node along the Belt and Road routes. Gwadar Port, located in the southwest coastal area of Balochistan of Pakistan, is a pivotal node of many important ship routes from Africa and Europe to the eastern Asia via the Red Sea, the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf, and an important part of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

The set of stamps, in blue tones, display the beautiful scenery of the two ports from a bird’s-eye view through graphic design. The stamps are distinctively shaped so that they are joined to create the visual effects of waves rising and falling and flags flying. The combination of the name of the stamps and the ship figure, matching the main color of each country’s national flag, makes the overall picture simple, smooth and dynamic.

The stamps are designed by Ma Lihang and printed by Shenyang Posts and Telecommunications Printing House of Liaoning Province with offset printing technology.

The stamps are going to be sold in the designated outlets of China Post, philatelic mall online, the app of China Post and philatelic shop of micro post office on Wechat for 6 months. To exhibit the contents of the stamps more vividly, China Post will release the digitalized contents through “Encyclopedia of China Philately and Stamps”, an applet on Wechat, and the audience can watch it by using the AR function.