Scott No: 2822-25
Serial number: 1997-24
Values in set: 4
Date of issue: December 10,1997
Designers: Wang Huming; Yan Bingwu;
Guo Chenghui
Size: 30*40mm
Perforation: 12
Sheet composition: 50
Printing process: offset

The special stamp set China Telecom, catalog number 1997-24, was issued on December 10, 1997. It consists of four stamps, produced using offset printing. The stamps measure 30×40 mm, with a perforation gauge of 12 degrees. Each sheet contains 50 stamps. The stamps were designed by Wang Huming, Yan Bingwu, and Guo Chenghui and printed by Henan Post and Telecommunications Printing Factory. This is the last special commemorative stamp set of the year.

After reform and opening-up, China's telecommunications industry developed rapidly. The scale and technological level of communication networks achieved leapfrog improvements, and a modern public telecommunications network was gradually built. This stamp set features four core communication technology sectors in sequence: digital transmission, program-controlled switching, data communication, and mobile communication. It documents the takeoff of China's communications industry in the 1990s and showcases how telecommunications technology changed social life at the dawn of the information age.

Stamp Designs and Historical Background

Digital Transmission

The image features a flowing channel formed by binary code, paired with communication satellites and receiving antennas. Colorful light beams represent optical fiber transmission. Digital transmission relies on carriers such as optical fibers and satellites to transmit signals, with large capacity and strong anti-interference capability. It is the foundational backbone of modern communication networks and supports nationwide long-distance communication links.

Program-Controlled Switching

The main subject is a giant X symbol and computer terminals against a blue technological background. Program-controlled telephone switches replaced traditional electromechanical switches, enabling rapid automatic line connection and making large-scale telephone popularization possible in China. It was the core equipment of fixed telephone networks, opening the era of universal telephone access.

Data Communication

The image features colorful light bands shuttling through, integrating computers and the silhouette of the Temple of Heaven, with labels of various public data network identifiers. Data communication enables information exchange between computers, including packet switching and Internet services, representing the beginning of computer networks entering China and the initial stage of informatization.

Mobile Communication

The image depicts early mobile phones and BP paging devices, with cellular communication base stations in the background. In the 1990s, mobile communication started rapidly. Wireless communication broke free from the constraints of telephone lines. BP pagers and analog mobile phones became well-known wireless communication tools of the time, representing the prototype of mobile communication before the arrival of the mobile Internet era.

Artistic and Design Features

The set uses modern abstract technological painting, with brilliant colors and extensive use of light trails, digital, and network symbols. The four stamps are arranged according to the hierarchy of communication technology, from backbone transmission and switching equipment to data networks and wireless mobile terminals, fully outlining the telecommunications technology system of the 1990s. The offset printing provides high color saturation and a futuristic feel, capturing the historical moment when China's communications industry shifted from analog to digital.