Scott No: 2929-30
Serial number: 1998-30
Values in set: 2
Date of issue: December 18, 1998
Designers: Su Haiyi
Size: 30*40mm
Perforation: 12
Sheet composition: 50
Printing process: offset

Issued on December 18, 1998, this commemorative stamp set contains two stamps printed in offset. Each stamp measures 30×40 mm with a perforation degree of 12. There are 40 stamps per full sheet. Designed by Su Haiyi and printed by Henan Post and Telecommunication Printing Factory.

Main Theme of the Set

This stamp set was issued to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the convening of the Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee. Held in 1978, the session re-established the ideological line of emancipating the mind and seeking truth from facts, and adopted the historic decision to shift the focus of the Party and the country’s work to economic construction and carry out reform and opening-up. It was a profound historic turning point since the founding of the People’s Republic of China. Selecting symbolic scenes, the stamps look back on this great conference, depict the tremendous changes brought by reform and opening-up, and bear in mind its far-reaching influence on national development.

Stamp Patterns and Historical Background

Comrade Deng Xiaoping at the Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee

The picture features the historical image of Comrade Deng Xiaoping at the session. At this meeting, Deng Xiaoping delivered a series of important statements to promote ideological emancipation and ushered in a new historical period of reform and opening-up. He was the core figure behind this great historic turning point.

Socialist Modernization Drive

This stamp takes achievements in modernization construction as its theme. Its background includes high-rises, bridges, soaring rockets and bumper harvest farmlands. These elements symbolize the leapfrog development China has achieved in urban construction, science and technology, agriculture and many other fields after reform and opening-up, vividly showing the thriving outlook of socialist modernization.

Artistic Design Features

The stamps combine historical photographs and symbolic images with solemn and concise composition. The first stamp focuses on the historic moment, adopting steady and solemn tones to restore the historical atmosphere of the conference site. The second summarizes the achievements of the times through a combination of diverse elements, lending dynamism to the frame. The two stamps echo one another: one records the historic moment of the great turning point, and the other showcases construction gains brought by reform. Together they concisely present the enormous transformations of the country over the two decades.