Scott No: 2156
Serial number: T127
Values in set: 4
Date of issue: June 5, 1990
Denomination: 32 fen
Designers: Zhang Anpu, Xu Yitao
Size of stamps: 40*27mm
Perforation: 11
Sheet composition: 40(2*2*10)
Printing process: Photogravure
Printing House: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

T127 "Environmental Protection" special stamps were issued on June 5, 1988 (World Environment Day). The set consists of 4 stamps, printed by photogravure, with a stamp size of 40 × 27 mm, perforation gauge 11, 40 stamps per sheet, printed in four-stamp blocks of four. Designed by Zhang Anpu and Xu Yitao, and printed by the Beijing Stamp Factory.

Theme of the Set

This is one of China's earlier special stamp sets to systematically promote environmental protection. Centered on the four major pollution types—soil, air, water, and noise—it carries out science popularization, calling on the public to establish environmental awareness, actively resist pollution, and protect the Earth, our home. It aligns with the promotional theme of World Environment Day and reflects China's attention to ecological protection work in the 1980s.

Stamp Designs and Historical Background

Protecting the Soil Environment

At the center of the design is the Earth, with its surface covered in green land and forests. On the right, a giant yellow hand blocks black patches bearing pollutants, implying the blocking of waste residue and harmful substances from eroding the soil and the protection of land and vegetation.

Protecting the Atmospheric Environment

In the design, above the Earth the blue sky is clear and white doves fly, while a giant hand blocks billowing black smoke, representing the control of industrial exhaust gas, the prevention of air pollution, and the maintenance of clean air.

Protecting the Water Environment

The design shows clear waters with fish swimming freely, while a giant hand intercepts discharged sewage, implying the control of wastewater discharge, the protection of the water quality of rivers, lakes, and seas, and the maintenance of aquatic ecology.

Preventing and Controlling Noise Pollution

With the night sky, stars, and moon as the background, a giant hand acts like a barrier separating jagged noise wave patterns, symbolizing the isolation of noise and the creation of a quiet and livable living environment.

Artistic Design Features

The set adopts a modern graphic decorative style. The four stamps share a unified compositional framework, with the Earth and the protecting hand as core symbols, giving high recognizability. The colors are bright with strong contrasts: polluting elements are shown in black and gray, while clean environments are shown in green, blue, and white, making the meanings intuitive and easy to understand. The forms are concise and generalized, leaning toward the expressive form of public-service posters, with a prominent science-popularization character.