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.