Scott No: 463-464
Serial number: C73
Values in set: 2
Date of issue: December 1, 1959
Denomination: 12 fen
Designer: Lu Tianjiao
Engraver: Kong Shaohun, Sun Hongnian
Size of stamps: 22*27mm
Perforation: 11.5
Sheet composition: 100(10*10)
Printing process: Engraving
Printing House: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

C73 "National Industrial and Transport Exhibition" commemorative stamps were issued on December 1, 1959. The set consists of 2 stamps, printed by engraving, designed by Lu Tianjiao, engraved by Kong Shaohui and Sun Hongnian, and printed by the Beijing Stamp Factory. Stamp size 22 mm × 27 mm, perforation gauge 11.5, 100 stamps per sheet (10 × 10), with a total face value of 0.12 yuan for the set; Emblem and Means of Transport 4 fen, circulation 4 million copies; Emblem and Machine Production 8 fen, circulation 8 million copies.

Theme of the Set

The Second National Industrial and Transport Exhibition was held at the Beijing Exhibition Center, concentrating on displaying the construction achievements of the ten years since the founding of the People's Republic in industry, transport, posts and telecommunications, energy, and other fields, and systematically presenting the self-reliant development appearance of the industrial and transport front. The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications issued this set to congratulate the opening of the exhibition, concisely presenting the two pillar industries of industrial production and transport, and recording the era's picture of the whole nation advancing industrial and transport construction during the Great Leap Forward.

Stamp Designs and Historical Background

Emblem and Means of Transport

At the top of the design is the exhibition emblem, with a gear and a crane hook paired with the words "1949–1959"; below is a diesel locomotive traveling over a railway arch bridge, with a communications tower and radio wave patterns standing beside it, representing railway transport and posts and telecommunications and highlighting the development of transport and communications.

Emblem and Machine Production

The emblem is placed at the top of the design; below are rows of factory buildings, chimneys, and heavy equipment, symbolizing heavy industry such as metallurgy and machinery, displaying the fiery production scene of factories and representing the construction achievements of industrial manufacturing.

Artistic Design Features

The set uniformly adopts a horizontal format and engraving; the lines are concise and hard, with a distinctive decorative style. The two stamps share the same emblem to form visual unity; one focuses on transport and communications, the other on factories and industry, complementing each other and closely centering on the theme of "industry and transport." The background colors are deep blue and bright red respectively, with clear contrast and compact compositions, and the era's industrial symbols are highly condensed.