China Post is to issue a set of two special stamps Year of Jiachen on January 5. The stamp designs are respectively named Golden Dragon Flying Forward and Two Dragons Offering Blessings. The denomination of the whole set is 2.4 yuan. The planned circulation is 29.98 million sets, 1.8 million sheets (layout 2) and 4.5 million stamp booklets.

In the Chinese zodiac culture, a dragon is a divine animal that symbolizes nobility and strength, and implies auspiciousness and good luck to common people. The two designs of this set of stamps draw on the cultural genes from the classic images of Chinese dragon, combine the features of Chinese zodiac culture and the artistic characteristics of stamps, and illustrate the dragon images via graphic design, thus showing the cultural heritage in the new era. The pictures are concise and bright, and the colors festive and auspicious, symbolizing happiness and good luck. The first stamp Golden Dragon Flying Forward depicts a golden dragon holding its head high and forging ahead, symbolizing the spirit of vigorous progress and self-improvement. Agile, graceful and majestic, the image and posture of the golden dragon originate from the Nine-Dragon Wall of the Forbidden City. The dragon is surrounded by auspicious flames and clouds on a Chinese red background, presenting a beautiful picture of auspiciousness, harmony, and good fortune. The picture of the second stamp Two Dragons Offering Blessings originates from the traditional Chinese auspicious pattern of dragons encircling jadeware. The round-shaped design and the square-shaped stamp form a layout indicating the ancient Chinese philosophy of the Round Heaven and Square Earth, making the overall design harmonious and solemn. The jadeware object on the center is inscribed with a compound graph of two Chinese characters “祥瑞” (meaning “auspicious signs”), which symbolizes peace, happiness, security and good fortune. The ruyi scepter patterns on the top imply harmony and auspiciousness. The water patterns, cloud patterns and dragon images below demonstrate the grand scene of dragons hovering around, conveying the good wishes of suitable weather, prosperity and peace for the country and people. The main colors of the two stamps are red, gold and black, reflecting a grand, noble, auspicious and happy atmosphere. The two stamp designs, one dynamic and the other static, complement and reinforce each other.

This set of stamps was designed by Wang Huming, and printed by Beijing Stamp Factory via offset intaglio technology.

On the same day, China Post will join hands with Hongkong Post and Macao Post and Telecommunications Bureau (CTT) to issue a miniature sheet on the same Chinese zodiac theme for the first time.

These stamps will be available for six 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 their 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.