Scott Number: -
Serial number: 2011-16
Values in set: 6
Denomination: 720 fen
Date of issue: June 22, 2011
Size of stamp: 33 * 44 mm
Perforation: 13
Sheet composition: 12 for Value I; 6 for Value II (2 sheets)
Size of Sheet:
165 * 190 mm for Value I;
130 * 140 mm for Value II
Size of S/S: 92 * 125 mm
Size of S/S stamp: 50 * 42 mm
Perforation of S/S: 13
Designer: Hao Xudong
Printing process: photogravure
Printer: Henan Postage Stamp Printing House

Commemorative Stamps 2011-16 The 90th Anniversary of the Founding of the Communist Party of China were officially issued on June 22, 2011, marking the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China from 1921 to 2011. The full set contains six stamps, each with a face value of 1.20 yuan, totalling 7.20 yuan. A souvenir sheet was issued concurrently. Designed by Hao Ou, the stamps were printed in photogravure by Beijing Stamp Printing House.

Following the chronological timeline of CPC history, the stamps are divided into three major phases: the Period of the New Democratic Revolution, the Period of Socialist Construction, and the New Period of Reform and Opening-up. They review the great journey in which the CPC led the Chinese people to achieve national independence and people’s liberation, carry out socialist construction, advance reform and opening-up, and march toward national rejuvenation. The set showcases the arduous 90-year journey and splendid achievements of the Party, inheriting revolutionary convictions.

Stamp Designs and Historical Background

Ushering in a New Era

Design: Site of the First National Congress of the CPC (Shikumen building in Shanghai and the Red Boat on Nanhu Lake), set against the rising morning sun.
History: The First National Congress of the CPC convened in 1921, formally founding the Communist Party of China and opening a brand-new chapter of the Chinese revolution.
Significance: The starting point of CPC founding and the beginning of the New Democratic Revolution.

Years of Turbulent Warfare

Design: Pagoda Hill in Yan’an, revolutionary armed forces and red flag motifs.
History: During the Agrarian Revolutionary War, War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and Liberation War, the Party led the people in armed struggle, established revolutionary base areas and ultimately secured nationwide victory.
Significance: An emblem of the arduous revolutionary struggle.

Governing the Country and Pioneering Construction

Design: Tiananmen Rostrum, China’s first batch of Jiefang motor vehicles and farmland construction scenes.
History: After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the basic socialist system was established, and large-scale socialist construction was launched, laying the foundation for national development.
Significance: The exploratory phase of socialist construction in the early days of New China.

Tide of Reform

Design: The Pioneer Ox sculpture in Shenzhen and silhouettes of modern cities.
History: The Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee ushered in reform and opening-up, emancipated the mind, boosted economic development and steered the country toward prosperity.
Significance: The dawn of the new historical period of reform and opening-up.

Leap Across the Century

Design: The Oriental Pearl Tower in Shanghai, the Three Gorges Dam and expressway networks.
History: At the turn of the century, China’s comprehensive national strength rose steadily. Major landmark projects were completed one after another, and modernization moved forward steadily.
Significance: A portrayal of surging national economic growth in the new century.

Scientific Development

Design: The National Stadium (Bird’s Nest), taikonauts, high-speed railways and landscapes of new countryside.
History: Upholding scientific development, coordinating urban-rural and regional development, promoting social harmony and building a moderately prosperous society in all respects.
Significance: Embodies development philosophies and construction achievements in the new stage of the 21st century.

Souvenir Sheet: The 90th Anniversary of the Founding of the Communist Party of China

Design: The CPC Party Emblem occupies the central position. The background integrates the Great Wall, the Yellow River and auspicious cloud patterns, with images of people of all ethnic groups gathered below.
Implication: Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, people of all ethnic groups across the nation unite as one, forge ahead and strive for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

Features of Artistic Design

Narrative Logic: The six stamps advance strictly in historical sequence, unfolding a continuous panoramic scroll of 90 years of CPC history.
Expression Technique: Adopting a modern decorative realistic style, dominated by red and gold hues. The solemn and warm palette matches the temperament of major red-themed works.
Symbol Selection: Iconic revolutionary sites and representative architectures & cultural symbols of each era accurately correspond to respective historical phases.
The souvenir sheet elevates the core theme. With a macroscopic composition, it serves as a visual summary for the entire set.

This stamp set constitutes the core commemorative philatelic issue for the 90th anniversary of CPC founding, a landmark complete set themed on Party history. Its subject coverage spans modern and contemporary Party history, revolutionary history, the construction of New China, and reform and opening-up. Issued together with a souvenir sheet, it boasts complete formats. Highly suitable for thematic philately focusing on red political themes and major Party history events, it occupies an important position among commemorative stamp series marking anniversaries of the CPC’s founding.