Scott No: -
Serial number: 2024-7
Values in set: 5
Date of issue: May 18th, 2024
Denomination: 600 fen
Designer: Hao Ou
Size of stamps: 50 * 30 mm
Size of tabs: 20 * 30 mm
Perforation: 13
Sheet composition: 12
Size of sheet: 165 * 240 mm
Printing process: Offset and Engraving
Printing House: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

China Post is scheduled to issue a set of 5 special stamps titled Museum Construction (II) on May 18, 2024. The stamps feature five museums: the National Museum of Archaeology of China, Liaoning Provincial Museum, Hubei Provincial Museum, Hunan Museum, and Sanxingdui Museum, with a total face value of 6.00 yuan. The planned circulation of the stamp set is 6.7 million.

The Chinese nation boasts a long history, a time-honored civilization, and profound culture. A museum is like a grand university—carrying history, embodying memories, representing the visible spirit of the nation, and embodying the tangible roots and veins of civilization.

This stamp set adopts a main stamp and attached stamp design. The main stamps highlight the architectural characteristics of the five museums: with concise and elegant colors and clear, powerful lines, they exude a stable yet dynamic architectural aesthetic. The attached stamps feature important cultural relics recommended by each museum, showcasing China’s splendid traditional culture and long-standing historical inheritance.

The first stamp features the National Museum of Archaeology of China, the country’s first national-level professional museum named after archaeology, established by the Chinese Academy of History. With the theme "Historical China: Forging Civilization," it is characterized by "warehouse-style exhibitions and immersive experiences," integrating exhibition, collection and preservation, academic research, and public education. Its attached stamp presents the Shang Dynasty Ivory Cup Inlaid with Turquoise—a late Shang Dynasty ivory carving unearthed in 1976 from the Tomb of Fu Hao at Yinxu in Anyang, Henan Province, and included in the Catalogue of the First Batch of Cultural Relics Forbidden to Be Exhibited Abroad.

The second stamp depicts Liaoning Provincial Museum, a modern large-scale comprehensive museum of history and art. Formerly the Northeast Museum founded in 1949 (the first museum established in New China), it was renamed Liaoning Provincial Museum in 1959. Its attached stamp shows the Neolithic Jade Dragon in the Shape of a Jue (a type of jade pendant), currently the largest and most regularly shaped jade pig-dragon of the Hongshan Culture known to date.

The third stamp features Hubei Provincial Museum, a national first-class museum renowned at home and abroad for its complete collection system, rich quantity, exquisite quality, and distinct regional characteristics. Its attached stamp presents the Yuan Dynasty Blue-and-White Plum Vase with Four Loves—on the vase’s belly are painted scenes of Wang Xizhi admiring orchids, Tao Yuanming cherishing chrysanthemums, Zhou Dunyi appreciating lotus flowers, and Lin Hejing loving plum blossoms and cranes.

The fourth stamp showcases Hunan Museum, the largest museum of history and art in Hunan Province and a first-class national museum. Its collection is particularly famous for cultural relics unearthed from the Mawangdui Han Tombs, Shang and Zhou bronzes, Chu cultural relics, ceramics and calligraphy/paintings of successive dynasties, and modern and contemporary cultural relics. Its attached stamp features the Shang Dynasty Min Square Lei (a type of bronze ritual vessel)—a large, majestic, exquisitely carved, and magnificent work that represents the peak of late Shang bronze casting, fully reflecting the superb craftsmanship and stunning momentum of Chinese bronze art.

The fifth stamp depicts Sanxingdui Museum, whose new building is constructed to world-class standards and is currently the largest single-building site museum in southwest China. The cultural relics in the museum vividly reveal the splendid glory of the ancient Shu civilization, demonstrating the permanent charm and contemporary vitality of Chinese culture. Its attached stamp presents the Shang Dynasty Bronze Figure Kneeling with Head Turned—an unprecedented discovery in Sanxingdui archaeology in terms of shape and decoration. It is of great significance for researching Sanxingdui’s bronze casting technology and art, religious beliefs and social system, and cultural exchanges with surrounding regions.

Each stamp is designed with anti-counterfeiting ink technology tailored to its unique characteristics. The distinctive inks seem to wrap the stamps in a mysterious veil, endowing them with unique charm in color and texture. The stamps perfectly integrate engraving craftsmanship with architecture: the dense and well-proportioned engraved lines on the architectural depictions combine the engraver’s superb skills with high-precision laser engraving technology, sketching vivid and aesthetic architectural portraits. Condensing the craftsmen’s dedication and the essence of technology, the stamps—with their exquisite printing, masterful engraving, unique anti-counterfeiting ink, and elegant design—constitute a rare artistic treasure.

This stamp set is designed by Hao Ou, edited by Wang Jing, and printed by Beijing Stamp Printing Co., Ltd. using combined offset and engraving printing technology.