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.