Scott No: 1315-28
Serial number: R18
Values in set: 14
Date of issue: March 15, 1977
Denomination: 305 fen
Designer: Lu Tianjiao
Size of stamps: 22*27mm
Perforation: 11.5
Sheet composition: 100(10*10)
Printing process: Photogravure
Printing House: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

R18 "Industrial and Agricultural Production and Construction Patterns" ordinary stamps were issued on March 15, 1977. The set consists of 14 stamps, printed by photogravure, designed by Lu Tianjiao, and printed by the Beijing Stamp Factory. Stamp size 26 mm × 31 mm, perforation gauge 11.5, 100 stamps per sheet (10 × 10), with a total face value of 304.5 fen for the set. The set was issued in two batches: the first 7 stamps appeared on March 15, and the remaining 7 were issued later on November 8 of the same year.

Theme of the Set

In the mid-to-late 1970s, a construction upsurge of learning from Daqing in industry and from Dazhai in agriculture swept the country. All sectors of the national economy strove to restore production and advance toward the goal of the four modernizations. This ordinary stamp set selects fourteen sectors of the national economy, covering agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, sideline production, fishery, industry, mining, transportation, communications, and other fields, and presents the construction appearance of all trades and professions in the form of decorative prints. Many of the pictures bear slogans of the times. It is a set of ordinary stamps used for daily postal delivery and for popularizing the national construction appearance among the public.

Stamp Designs and Historical Background

Coal

The design shows coal mine derricks, factory buildings, and coal trains, with the slogan "Self-reliance, arduous struggle" on the derrick. Coal is China's basic energy source and the fuel foundation of industrial production.

Animal Husbandry

The design paints herds of cattle and sheep on the grasslands, with expansive meadows, expressing the development of animal husbandry in pastoral areas and the development of the pastoral economy according to local conditions.

Port

The design depicts a seaport wharf, with cranes hoisting cargo onto freighters and ships coming and going on the sea, embodying the water transport port's circulation of materials and service to domestic and foreign trade.

Forestry

The design shows dense stretches of forest, with trains loaded with timber traveling through the woods, displaying forestry logging and timber production and balancing the development of forest resources with the greening of the land.

Hydropower

The design paints a hydropower station dam and power transmission steel towers, with water surging; hydropower is clean, renewable energy that supports local power supply and the development of industry and agriculture.

Fishery

The design depicts fishing boats, fishing nets, and schools of fish, with aquatic fishing operations on the emerald waves, embodying the development and utilization of China's river, lake, and marine fishery resources.

Agricultural Harvest

The design shows stretches of farmland, with harvesters and tractors operating in the fields and the slogan "Learn from Dazhai in Agriculture" erected at the field's edge. It represents grain production and stable, high yields, and it is the core theme of the agricultural front.

Posts and Telecommunications

The main subject of the design is a posts and telecommunications tower, buildings, and communications vehicles, paired with a gear symbol, symbolizing that posts and telecommunications connect town and country and safeguard the transmission of information.

Iron and Steel

The design presents a steelmaking workshop, with molten steel tapped and an overhead crane hoisting steel ingots, with the slogan "Grasp revolution, promote production" on one side. Iron and steel are the skeleton of industry, representing heavy industry construction.

Highway

The design shows a mountain highway, with trucks driving on the winding road and continuous mountains, embodying highway construction opening up mountain routes and facilitating material transport.

Textiles

The design depicts women textile workers laboring in the workshop, with colorful cloth patterns, representing the light textile industry and enriching the supply of consumer goods for people's livelihood.

Agricultural Machinery Manufacturing

The design shows an agricultural machinery factory, with finished tractors parked in the plant area and the slogan "Learn from Daqing in Industry" on the roof. Agricultural machinery manufacturing provides equipment support for agricultural mechanization.

Offshore Oil Drilling

The design paints an offshore drilling platform, with the setting sun reflected on the sea and seabirds flying, displaying the emerging industry of China's offshore oil exploration and development.

Railway

The design shows a railway arch bridge crossing a river, with a train traveling over the bridge and the river flowing on. The railway is the main artery for long-distance bulk material transport, linking town and country across the country.

Artistic Design Features

The set uniformly adopts a vertical stamp format and a color woodcut decorative print style, with concise, condensed forms and bright, vivid colors. Each stamp independently presents one industry, and each stamp's border background color differs, giving high distinguishability. The pictures make extensive use of symbolic images such as gears, wheat ears, derricks, and boats, paired with slogans of the times, with a strong flavor of the era. The photogravure printing has clean color blocks and crisp lines. There is no souvenir sheet for this set. It is the ordinary stamp set with the richest subjects on industrial and agricultural construction of the JT period.