Scott No: 2956-57
Serial number: 1999-4
Values in set: 2
Date of issue: May 1, 1999
Designers: Liu Jude
Size: 30*50mm
Perforation: 12
Sheet composition: 40
Printing process: offset

The commemorative stamp set 1999 Kunming World Horticultural Exposition was issued on May 1, 1999. It consists of two stamps with a total face value of 2.80 yuan. It was designed by Liu Jude and printed by Henan Post and Telecommunications Printing Factory using offset printing. The 1999 Kunming World Horticultural Exposition was the first A1-class world horticultural exposition held in China, with the theme "Man and Nature – Marching Toward the 21st Century." This stamp set was issued on the opening day of the expo, documenting this horticultural event and conveying the concept of harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature.

The World Horticultural Exposition is known as the Olympics of horticulture, bringing together global garden and horticultural masterpieces, plant germplasm resources, and garden art achievements. The stamp set features two major visual themes: one focusing on the concept of ecological protection, and the other showcasing the core venues of the expo. Using flowers, the Earth, and venues as visual symbols, it expresses humanity's common pursuit of caring for nature and beautifying our homeland. It also showcases China's achievements in garden and horticulture development to the world and bears witness to cultural and horticultural exchange among nations.

Stamp Designs and Historical Background

Protecting Nature

The main image is the Yunnan camellia, specifically the famous Kunming city flower variety "Lion's Head," with the Earth held below the flower and hands forming a rainbow. In the lower left corner is "Lingling," the Yunnan snub-nosed monkey mascot of the expo. The camellia symbolizes the Spring City of Kunming, and the Earth represents our shared home. It symbolizes humanity's careful protection of nature and the use of horticultural beauty to adorn the Earth, interpreting the core theme of the expo.

Expo Venues

The main design is a giant green tree, with the three core buildings of the expo embedded in the canopy: the China Pavilion, the International Pavilion, and the Man and Nature Pavilion. The trunk is composed of colorful ribbons. The green tree symbolizes vitality and ecology, and the colorful trunk represents the five continents of the world, symbolizing the five continents joining hands to protect the green homeland and showcasing the distinctive feature of the expo's architectural complex integrated into the landscape garden.

Artistic and Design Features

The stamp set uses a decorative painting style. The forms are concise and refined, and the colors are bright and lively, full of modern design sensibility. The offset printing provides stable color reproduction, with clean and soft color blocks. The two stamps contrast the abstract and the concrete: one expresses the concept, and the other presents the physical venues. They echo each other, integrating the ecological concept with the expo architecture. It is a classic commemorative stamp in the early domestic world horticultural exposition theme.