Scott No: -
Serial number: 2022-13
Values in set: 2
Date of issue: June 28th, 2022
Denomination: 240 fen
Designer: Guo Zhenshan
Size of stamps:
Value I: 50 * 30 mm;
Value II: 30 * 50 mm
Perforation:
Value I: 13;
Value II: 13.5
Sheet composition: 12 (6 Sets)
Size of sheet: 180 * 205 mm
Printing process: Offset
Printing House: Henan Provincal Post Printing Works

China Post scheduled the issuance of a special stamp set themed Hydropower Construction on June 28, 2022. Jointly planned with China Three Gorges Corporation, this set consists of 2 stamps, depicting the Wudongde Hydropower Station and the Baihetan Hydropower Station respectively. The total face value of the set is 2.40 yuan, with a planned circulation of 6.8 million sets.

In 1978, the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China made the great historic decision to launch the reform and opening - up policy, ushering in a new era of economic and social development in China. Guided by the overall guidelines of the country's reform and opening - up, the hydropower industry in China, like other sectors, has undergone profound transformations. These changes have effectively driven China's hydropower sector to evolve from a small and weak industry to a powerful one — progressing from learning from others, keeping pace with them, to taking the lead and ultimately achieving an all - round transcendence. Currently, China ranks first in the world in both installed hydropower capacity and annual power generation. Its comprehensive technological and management capabilities across the entire industrial chain of hydropower, covering planning and design, construction and installation, equipment manufacturing, operation and management, as well as investment and financing, have reached the world's advanced level. A large number of these "major national strategic projects" have become benchmarks in the global history of hydropower construction. To implement the spirit of the important instructions made by General Secretary Xi Jinping on the commissioning of the first generating units of the Wudongde Hydropower Station and his congratulatory letter on the commissioning of the first generating units of the Baihetan Hydropower Station, and to showcase China's latest achievements in hydropower construction, China Post has issued this special stamp set Hydropower Construction.

The first stamp, featuring the Wudongde Hydropower Station, is located on the main stream of the Jinsha River at the junction of Luquan County in Yunnan Province and Huidong County in Sichuan Province. It is the 7th largest hydropower station in the world and the 4th largest in China. The first batch of its generating units was put into operation on June 29, 2020, and all units were commissioned on June 16, 2021. The second stamp, depicting the Baihetan Hydropower Station, sits on the main stream of the Jinsha River at the border between Ningnan County in Sichuan Province and Qiaojia County in Yunnan Province. Its first generating units started operation on June 28, 2021, and the entire project was completed in 2022. Upon completion, it became the world's second - largest hydropower station, second only to the Three Gorges Hydropower Station. As the two largest energy infrastructure projects in terms of installed capacity that China has started and put into operation since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, these two hydropower stations are key backbone projects for the country to implement the "West - to - East Power Transmission" strategy and optimize its energy structure. Together with the Xiluodu, Xiangjiaba, Three Gorges and Gezhouba Hydropower Stations, they form the world's largest clean energy corridor, providing strong momentum for the green economic and social development of China.

This stamp set adopts both horizontal and vertical formats. With a unique watercolor style, it portrays the magnificent scenes of the two hydropower dams releasing water when the sluice gates are opened. The stamps take blue - green as the main color. By presenting the shimmering blue water upstream of the dams and the mist - shrouded, majestic momentum of the gushing water downstream, the striking contrast between the static and dynamic scenes creates a strong visual impact.

The set was designed by Guo Zhenshan. Guo, who serves as a Director of the China Artists Association and Vice President of Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts, has successively designed many commemorative and special stamp sets, including those themed The 14th National Games of the People's Republic of China, Bo'ao in Hainan, APEC 2001 Meeting · China and Ertan Hydropower Station.

The stamps were printed by Henan Post and Telecommunications Technology Co., Ltd. using the offset printing process. The combination of 9 - color offset printing and surface treatment technology makes the images more delicate, vivid and three - dimensional. For the first time, China Post printed a QR code containing traceable information on the full - sheet stamps of this set. The QR code enables information sharing, facilitating philatelists to easily inquire about abundant details of the stamps. Philatelists can scan the QR code through the scan function on multiple platforms, such as the China Post APP, the Philately WeChat Mall of China Post Micro Post Office, the WeChat Mini Program of China Post Mall, and the WeChat Mini Program of China Philately Stamp Encyclopedia. Through this, they can check information including the printing factory of the stamps, detailed introductions, stamp numbers and the number of scans.