Scott No: -
Serial number: 2017-3
Values in set: 9
Date of issue: Feburay 25, 2017
Denomination: 1320 fen
Designer: Wang Huming
Size of stamps: 60 * 30 mm
Perforation: 13.5 * 13
Sheet composition: 9 (one set)
Sheet Size: 223 * 120 mm
Printing process: Photogravure
Printing House: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

On February 25, 2017, China Post issued a set of 9 stamps themed A Panorama of Rivers and Mountains. Following the design and issuance model of the previously released stamp sets Yangtze River, Yellow River and Great Wall, this collection adopts the photogravure multimedia printing technology, with the release of individual stamp sets, sheetlets and a special 9-stamp continuous panorama scroll. Among them, 6 stamps have a face value of 1.2 yuan each, 2 stamps are priced at 1.5 yuan each, and 1 stamp has a face value of 3 yuan.

Together with the earlier Yangtze River, Yellow River and Great Wall stamp sets, this collection composes a magnificent ode to the motherland’s magnificent landscapes. It conveys deep love and praise for the country’s breathtaking scenery, expresses admiration and blessings for the happy life enjoyed by people today, and embodies the aspiration and pursuit for realizing the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation.

The A Panorama of Rivers and Mountains scroll was painted by Wang Ximeng of the Northern Song Dynasty. Executed on silk with mineral pigments, the scroll measures 51.5 centimeters in height and 1191.5 centimeters in length, and is now housed in the Palace Museum in Beijing. In the third year of the Zhenghe reign period (1113), the 18-year-old Wang Ximeng (c. 1096—1115) presented this exquisitely crafted scroll to Emperor Huizong of Song, winning high praise from the monarch. This masterpiece is also his only surviving work to date. Through the vivid application of azurite blue and malachite green pigments, the scroll unfolds a stunningly beautiful and clear panorama of thousands of miles of rivers and mountains. It depicts a diverse array of scenes including towering mountain ranges, distant sandbanks, nearby islets, as well as waterside pavilions and terraces, creating a sense of vastness and depth within a limited space. The entire scroll progresses from the detailed, step-by-step views in the foreground to the undulating mountain ranges in the distance, showcasing a boundless expanse of rivers and sky with ever-changing weather patterns, and a rich, grand and magnificent array of scenery. It stands as a representative work of ancient Chinese blue-and-green landscape painting.