Scott No: -
Serial number: 2024-12
Values in set: 9
Date of issue: June 15th, 2024
Denomination: 1320 fen
Designer: Cheng Xiangjun
Size of stamps: 60 * 42 mm
Perforation: 13.5 * 13
Sheet composition:
9 (1 set) for Sheet I;
6 (2 sets) for Sheet II
(Value 1, 2, 3 in Sheet 1;
Value 4, 5, 6 in Sheet 2;
Value 7, 8, 9 in Sheet 3;)
Sheet Size:
230 * 176 mm for Sheet I;
220 * 160 mm for Sheet II
Printing process: Offset
Printing House: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

China Post is scheduled to issue a set of 9 special stamps themed "Qinling Mountains" on June 15, 2024. The stamp designs are entitled Layered Ridges of Dieshan, Tian Tan of Zibai Mountain, Hometown of Zhou and Qin Dynasties, Snow-Capped Taibai Mountain, Blessed Land of Zhongnan Mountain, Cryolite Sea, Stacked Beauty of Niubei Mountain, Perilous Wonders of West Yue (Huashan), and Gilded Peak Radiance. The total face value of the set is 13.20 yuan. The planned circulation includes 5.9 million sets of stamps and 900,000 sheetlets of Format II.

Located in central China, the massive Qinling Mountains stretch east-west, providing water sources for three major river basins—the Yellow River, Yangtze River, and Huaihe River—deserving the title of "China’s Central Water Tower". The boundary formed by the Qinling Mountains and Huaihe River serves as the dividing line between China’s northern and southern climates. It also marks the 0℃ isotherm in January, the boundary between paddy fields in the south and dryland in the north, and the transition between subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forests and temperate deciduous broad-leaved forests. Thus, it holds an extraordinary status in both natural science and geographical circles. The diverse climates from the mountain foothills to the summits have fostered immense biodiversity in the Qinling Mountains, making it a natural habitat for various wild animals.

The stamps are created in the acrylic painting style, adopting traditional Chinese composition techniques. The distant views present the towering, magnificent, and rugged landscape of the Qinling Mountains with broad horizontal spans, featuring a harmonious and unified design language. The creative approach integrates Western color painting concepts and light-shadow techniques into traditional Chinese heavy-color painting methods, embodying both the artistic charm of classical Chinese painting and the aesthetic orientation of the times. Meanwhile, elements such as "red footprints" (revolutionary heritage), cultural relics, and water conservation are incorporated into the images, fully reflecting the Qinling Mountains’ role as a unifier of northern and southern ecosystems, a benefactor to the nation, China’s "Central Water Tower", the ancestral vein of the Chinese nation, and an important symbol of Chinese culture. Printed using offset lithography, the stamps boast a profound texture, high color saturation, and distinct layers. The fluorescent layers are designed according to the mountain’s topographical structure, revealing the veins of the Qinling Mountains under ultraviolet light. A special long-scroll stamp folder is customized for this set, with a cover coated in tactile film for a delicate and premium feel. The characters "Qinling Mountains" shine with a clear and elegant luster, soft yet refined. The nine images are connected to form a continuous long scroll of the Qinling Mountains, serving not only as an artistic reproduction of human and natural landscapes but also as an interpretation of the Qinling Mountains’ historical culture and ecological civilization.

This set of stamps was designed by Cheng Xiangjun, edited by Gan Zhige, and printed by Beijing Stamp Printing Co., Ltd. using offset lithography.