Scott No: -
Serial number: 2014-14
Values in set: 3
Date of issue: July 6, 2014
Denomination: 320 fen
Designer of Stamps: Zhang Wang
Size of stamps: 33 * 44 mm
Perforation: 13.5
Sheet composition: 16
Size of sheet: 165 * 210 mm
Printing process: Offset
Printing House: Liaoning Provincial Shenyang Postage Stamp Printing Works

China Post will issue a set of three special stamps titled "Huangmei Opera" on July 6, 2014, with a total face value of 3.20 yuan. Each stamp measures 33×44 mm, with 16 stamps per sheet, and a sheet size of 165×210 mm. The stamp designs are titled "The Heavenly Match," "The Female Son-in-Law," and "Picking Herbs." The stamps incorporate four anti-counterfeiting features: anti-counterfeiting paper, anti-counterfeiting ink, shaped perforations, and fluorescent spray codes. Designed by Zhang Wang, the stamps are based on photographic stills and rendered in the traditional Chinese gongbi (meticulous brushwork) technique, resulting in clear, delicate images. They were printed by Shenyang Post and Telecommunications Printing Factory in Liaoning Province using high-resolution frequency-modulated screening and six-color offset printing.

Huangmei Opera is a regional form of Chinese opera, formerly known as Huangmei tone or tea-picking opera. Together with Peking opera, Yue opera, Ping opera, and Henan opera, it is recognized as one of the five major opera genres in China. The melodies of Huangmei Opera are gentle, fresh, and lyrical, rich in everyday life and folk song style, characterized by brightness, simplicity, and liveliness. Its performances are known for their down-to-earth and vivid qualities. Over the course of its development, Huangmei Opera has produced a number of outstanding actors and actresses, such as Yan Fengying, Wu Qiong, Han Zaifen, Wang Shaofang, Ma Lan, Zhang Hui, and Huang Xinde. It has also created many classic repertoire pieces, including The Heavenly Match, The Female Son-in-Law, Picking Herbs, The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, The Blue Bridge Meeting, Willow Tree Well, Jade Hall Spring, The Couple Watching Lanterns, Sand Hill, The Red Propagandist, Third Sister Liu, The Party's Daughter, Sister Jiang, Spinning Cotton, and The Woman of Huizhou. These works are immensely popular across the country and have a significant influence both domestically and internationally.

Huangmei Opera has its origins in the early Tang Dynasty, with a history of over 1,400 years, and is recognized as a national-level intangible cultural heritage in China. In the late 18th century, it emerged as a local folk opera in the adjacent areas of Anhui, Hubei, and Jiangxi provinces, specifically in Huaining County, Anhui. There are varying theories regarding its birthplace, including Huaining, Susong, and Tongcheng in Anhui, as well as Huangmei in Hubei. During the late Qing dynasty, in Anqing City, Anhui Province, it integrated with local folk arts, adopting the Anqing dialect for singing and spoken dialogue, and gradually developed into a new opera form, at which point it became known as Huangmei Opera. It was once referred to as "Huai Tone" and "Anhui Opera." On May 20, 2006, it was included in the first batch of the National Intangible Cultural Heritage List by the State Council. Huangmei Opera serves as an important medium for the interpretation and dissemination of traditional Chinese culture. Centered around Anqing, it has spread throughout China.