Scott No: -
Serial number: 2025-7
Values in set: 4
Date of issue: May 18th, 2025
Denomination: 480 fen
Designer: Ma Lihang
Size of stamps: 40 * 30 mm
Perforation: 13
Sheet composition: 12
Size of sheet: 150 * 170 mm
Printing process: Offset
Printing House: Henan Provincial Post & Telecommunications Technology Co., Ltd

China Post is scheduled to issue a set of 4 special stamps themed "Cultural Relics of the Silk Road (III)" on May 18, 2025. The stamps are titled: Han Dynasty: Silk Armguard with the Inscription "Five Stars Rise in the East, Benefiting China", Northern and Southern Dynasties: Silver Plate with Divine Figure Patterns, Northern Zhou Dynasty: Convex-Nailed Glass Bowl, and Tang Dynasty: Mural Painting of a Foreign Merchant Leading a Camel Loaded with Silk. The total face value of the complete set is 4.80 yuan, with a planned issuance quantity of 5.9 million sets.

The ancient Silk Road stretched for thousands of miles and endured for millennia, embodying the Silk Road spirit centered on peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning, and mutual benefit. This is a precious legacy of human civilization. This set of stamps showcases 4 rare cultural relics along the overland Silk Road from west to east.

1. Han Dynasty: Silk Armguard with the Inscription "Five Stars Rise in the East, Benefiting China"

Unearthed from the Niya Ruins, a key transportation hub on the southern route of the Silk Road, this armguard is now collected by the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Museum. It was used as a protective gear (archery armguard) during the Han Dynasty. The silk fabric of the armguard is brightly colored, with auspicious cloud patterns interspersed with orderly woven motifs of mythical beasts such as phoenixes, luan birds, unicorns, and white tigers. Between two circular decorative bands, the auspicious small seal script inscription "Five Stars Rise in the East, Benefiting China" is woven, expressing prayers for good fortune. The stamp conveys the texture of ancient silk through a special tactile process. As an excellent reflection of the exquisite silk-making craftsmanship of the Han Dynasty, this armguard witnesses the cultural exchange and integration between the East and the West on the Silk Road.

2. Northern and Southern Dynasties: Silver Plate with Divine Figure Patterns

Unearthed in Beitan, Jingyuan County, Gansu Province, and preserved in the Gansu Provincial Museum, this silver plate is an important Roman cultural relic discovered on the Chinese Silk Road. Research shows it was introduced to China between the 4th and 5th centuries AD. The inner wall of the plate is fully decorated with relief patterns arranged in three concentric circles. The outer circle features interlocking grape and scroll patterns, with small animals such as birds and bees perching among them. The middle circle displays relief portraits of the Twelve Olympian Gods of ancient Greece, each accompanied by an animal on the left. At the center stands a high-relief male figure sitting against a leopard. The stamp adopts a combination of matte sandblasting and 3D embossing techniques to present the detailed features and textural quality of the silver plate. Discovered at a Yellow River ferry on the Gansu section of the Silk Road, this artifact is crucial material evidence for studying economic and cultural exchanges between the East and the West, as well as a rare treasure from the Silk Road.

3. Northern Zhou Dynasty: Convex-Nailed Glass Bowl

Unearthed from the joint burial tomb of Li Xian and his wife of the Northern Zhou Dynasty in the southern suburbs of Guyuan, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, this bowl is now housed in the Guyuan Museum of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. It has a straight mouth, a short ring foot, and is fully transparent with a turquoise hue. The outer wall is adorned with two rows of 14 convex circular decorations arranged in a staggered pattern. Its inner wall is smooth, while the outer wall has a thin layer of golden-yellow patina. Made of soda-lime glass containing various minerals, this shape was very popular on the Iranian Plateau during the Sasanian period. The stamp combines special varnish and 3D embossing techniques, making the crystal-clear texture and three-dimensional effect of the glass bowl vividly apparent. As a strategic gateway on the northwest section of the Silk Road, Guyuan witnessed the exchange and integration of Eastern and Western cultures, providing extremely important materials for investigating East-West trade at that time.

4. Tang Dynasty: Mural Painting of a Foreign Merchant Leading a Camel Loaded with Silk

Unearthed from the tomb of Lady Tang, wife of Prince An Guo Xiang of the Tang Dynasty in Luoyang, Henan Province, this mural is now collected by the Luoyang Ancient Tombs Museum. Painted on the west wall of the tomb passage, the mural depicts a tall and robust camel striding forward with its head held high, hooves lifted, and tail flicking. On the camel's back are bundled silk rolls and bottles. In front, a Western merchant with a high nose, bushy beard, wearing a pointed hat, a collared long robe, and black high boots strides forward leading the camel by the reins. The mural vividly recreates the scene of merchants from various countries arriving in Luoyang—one of the eastern starting points of the Silk Road—loading silk and heading westward. It objectively reflects the social scenes and folk customs of the Tang Dynasty, telling stories of civilizational exchange and mutual learning. The stamp combines reverse glazing and matte sandblasting techniques, highlighting both the vicissitudes of the mural's historical changes and the distinct color effects of the figures, ornaments, and animals in the painting, endowing it with a unique artistic temperament.

The stamps feature prominent subjects, clear details, and ingenious printing designs. Based on the characteristics of the four cultural relics, they adopt a combination of "multi-color high-precision offset printing + special techniques" to create a multi-dimensional appreciation experience involving vision and touch, showcasing the exquisite craftsmanship and artistic characteristics of Silk Road cultural relics. When viewed under ultraviolet light, each stamp presents a unique fluorescent effect from a distinctive perspective. The background uses a tone similar to ancient paper, enhanced by special glossy ink, depicting landscapes along the ancient Silk Road and merchant camel caravans. The direction of the camel caravans echoes the circulation direction of the cultural relics, creating a profound historical and cultural atmosphere.

This set of stamps is designed by Ma Lihang, edited by Wang Jing, and printed by Henan Post and Telecommunications Technology Co., Ltd. using offset printing technology.