Scott No: 3135-36
Serial number:2001-19
Values in set: 2
Denomination: 360 fen
Date of issue: 20th September 2001
Designer: Hao Ou
Size of stamps: 50*30 mm
Perforation:12
Sheet composition: 16
Printing process: gravure-engraving
Printer: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing House

This stamp set, Wuhu Yangtze River Bridge, was issued on September 20, 2001. It is a special stamp set consisting of two stamps with a total face value of 3.60 yuan. The designer and engraver is Hao Xudong. It was printed using a combination of offset and intaglio printing by Beijing Stamp Printing Works. The perforation gauge is 11 degrees, and each stamp measures 50×30 mm.

This stamp set features two views of the Wuhu Yangtze River Bridge. Using the combined offset and intaglio printing technique, it showcases the magnificent form of this iconic domestic road-rail cable-stayed bridge, documents the construction achievements of a key national transportation project during the Ninth Five-Year Plan, reflects the advanced technology of China's modern bridge engineering, and highlights the bridge's important value in connecting the north and south banks of the Yangtze River and improving the transportation network of East China.

Stamp Designs and Historical Background

Bridge Body

The stamp shows a full side view of the Wuhu Yangtze River Bridge. Located in Wuhu, Anhui, the Wuhu Yangtze River Bridge is China's first large-span road-rail steel truss low-tower cable-stayed bridge. Construction began in 1997, and it was completed and opened to traffic in September 2000. It is known as the fourth milestone in China's bridge-building history. The main span is 312 meters, and the total project scale exceeds the combined engineering volume of the Wuhan and Nanjing Yangtze River Bridges. The stamp presents the complete bridge spanning the Yangtze River from a side view. The double-deck bridge structure is clear: the lower deck carries railways, and the upper deck carries highways. The stay cables are arranged in an orderly manner. The great river flows, and the long bridge lies across the waves, highlighting the bridge's massive scale. Before the bridge was completed, the two banks of the Yangtze River relied on ferries, which severely constrained the development of the Wanjiang region. This bridge opened up multiple railway and highway trunk lines, forming the second railway corridor in East China.

Bridge Deck

The stamp shows a frontal view of the bridge, focusing on the highway deck and the bridge towers with their stay cables. The perspective is from the bridge deck itself. The wide, smooth highway surface extends forward, with two bridge towers standing tall and dense stay cables in a fan arrangement supporting the bridge. The bridge's design takes into account both navigational clearance and airport clearance restrictions. Large ten-thousand-ton river vessels can pass beneath the bridge, while it does not interfere with flight takeoffs and landings at the nearby airport. During construction, more than ten new technologies and materials were developed, and 14 technical indicators set new domestic bridge-building records. The project won the Luban Prize. The stamp highlights the openness of the bridge deck and the structural beauty of the cable-stayed bridge, reflecting the precise design of a modern large-scale bridge project.

Artistic and Design Features

The stamp set uses a combination of offset and intaglio printing. The engraved lines are solid and delicate, accurately expressing the hard, robust texture of steel structures such as the steel truss and stay cables. The two stamps—one a distant side view and one a close-up frontal view—provide a complete interpretation of the bridge from different angles. The engraved printmaking style is substantial and solid, with steady and restrained gray-blue tones, emphasizing the sense of power of the steel bridge. Using the expressive power of engraved lines unique to this technique, it reproduces the engineering beauty of this road-rail bridge across the river. It is an outstanding example of offset-intaglio printing among bridge-themed stamps in China.