Scott No: 3013-16
Serial number:2000-7
Values in set: 4
Denomination: 5.20 yuan
Date of issue: March 26, 2000
Designer: Zou Jianjun
Size of stamps: 50*30mm
Perforation:12
Sheet composition: 40
Printing process: offset
Printer: Shenyang Post & Telecommmunication Printing Works

The special stamp set Yangtze River Highway Bridges was issued on March 26, 2000. It consists of four stamps with a total face value of 5.20 yuan. It was designed by Zou Jianjun and printed by Shenyang Post and Telecommunications Printing Factory in Liaoning Province using offset printing. The stamps feature four modern cross-river highway bridges that had been completed and opened to traffic along the Yangtze River, arranged from upstream to downstream. It showcases the brilliant achievements of China's bridge engineering construction at the turn of the century and documents the era-defining feat of turning the natural moat of the Yangtze River into a thoroughfare.

The Yangtze River traverses the heartland of China and has been a natural barrier to north-south transportation since ancient times. With China's rapid economic development, multiple Yangtze River highway bridges were completed and opened to traffic in the 1990s, connecting the north-south highway trunk lines. The stamp set selects four cross-river bridges of different bridge types along the course of the Yangtze River. Using realistic painting, it showcases the majestic appearance of the bridges, presenting multiple modern bridge technologies including arch bridges, continuous girder bridges, cable-stayed bridges, and suspension bridges. It bears witness to the leap in China's bridge engineering technology and highlights the major achievements in infrastructure construction.

Stamp Designs and Historical Background

Wanxian Yangtze River Highway Bridge

Located in Wanzhou District, Chongqing, it is a deck-type reinforced concrete arch bridge and was once the world's largest span of its type. The stamp depicts the majestic posture of the bridge spanning the Yangtze River gorge. The layered mountains on both banks and the fields by the river complement each other, demonstrating the engineering strength of building a large-span arch bridge in a complex mountainous environment.

Huangshi Yangtze River Highway Bridge

Located in Huangshi, Hubei, it is a prestressed concrete continuous rigid-frame bridge. The stamp shows the flat and expansive bridge body lying across the river, with lush green trees on the banks. The bridge connects the north and south banks of the Ezhou-Yangtze region and is an important highway crossing in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River.

Tongling Yangtze River Highway Bridge

Located in Tongling, Anhui, it is a prestressed concrete cable-stayed bridge. The stamp depicts the tall bridge towers and radiating stay cables, with the bridge body spanning the great river in the air. It is the first Yangtze River highway bridge in Anhui Province, connecting highway traffic between southern and northern Anhui.

Jiangyin Yangtze River Highway Bridge

Located between Jiangyin and Jingjiang in Jiangsu, it is China's first steel box girder suspension bridge with a span exceeding one thousand meters and was among the world's leading bridges at the time. The stamp shows two giant bridge towers pulling long suspension cables, with the bridge spanning the broad waters of the lower Yangtze River. It is a key river crossing hub on the national highway trunk line.

Artistic and Design Features

The stamp set uses a realistic landscape painting style. The distant views are paired with mountains, rivers, and riverside vegetation. The blue sky and clear water set off the main subject of the bridges, with fresh and bright colors. The offset printing provides soft layers, accurately reproducing the structural characteristics of different bridge types. The four stamps are arranged in geographical order from the upper to the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Each bridge type is different. They can be appreciated individually, and when connected, they form a panoramic miniature of modern bridge construction on the Yangtze River trunk line. It is an outstanding work in the category of major engineering construction stamps.