Scott No: 2538
Serial number: 1994-19
souvenir sheet: 1
Date of issue: November 17 , 1994
Designers: Wang Zhenhua
Size of S/S: 120*85 mm
Size of S/S stamp: 60*40 mm
Printing process: offset

The commemorative souvenir sheet The Fourth Congress of the All-China Philatelic Federation, catalog number 1994-19, was issued on November 17, 1994. It consists of one souvenir sheet, produced using offset printing. The stamp measures 61×40 mm, with a perforation gauge of 11.5 degrees. The souvenir sheet measures 120×85 mm. It was designed by Wang Zhenhua and printed by Beijing Stamp Printing Works.

Thematic Focus of the Set

This souvenir sheet was issued to commemorate the Fourth Congress of the All-China Philatelic Federation held in Beijing. Continuing the tradition of previous congress souvenir sheets featuring ancient postal relay relics, it selects a Han Dynasty beacon tower as the main image. Beacon towers were ancient border communication and alarm facilities in China and are physical witnesses to the long history of Chinese postal communication. By tracing the origins of postal and philatelic culture through ancient postal relics, it highlights the unique connotation of philatelic activities carrying postal history and preserving communication civilization.

Stamp Design and Historical Background

Han Dynasty – Kizil Beacon Tower

The main subject is the Kizil Gaha Han Dynasty beacon tower located in Kuqa, Xinjiang. The rammed-earth beacon tower stands on the Gobi wilderness, with blue sky and white clouds in the background. It is one of the best-preserved Han Dynasty beacon tower sites in the Western Regions. Two thousand years ago, beacon smoke was used to transmit military intelligence. It is an important relic of the ancient northwestern frontier communication system. The souvenir sheet border is printed with text from the Juyan Han bamboo slips, Regulations on Beacon Fires at the Frontier, which records the institutional norms for beacon fire transmission at Han Dynasty frontier passes. It corroborates the physical beacon tower, recreating the ancient communication scene of "careful watch, unobstructed beacon fires."

Artistic and Design Features

The design is realistic and simple, with steady and substantial tones. The earthy yellow of the Gobi contrasts brightly with the blue sky and white clouds, accurately reproducing the weathered and ancient appearance of the beacon tower. The bamboo slip text on the border is elegantly arranged, combining the physical site with excavated documents, mutually confirming image and text. It continues the ancient postal relay theme style of the previous three congress souvenir sheets, with a strong sense of history. It is a representative souvenir sheet in the philatelic federation congress series.