Scott No: -
Serial number: 2016-21
Values in set: 1
Date of issue: August 9, 2016
Denomination: 120 fen
Designer: Yu Hui
Size of stamps: 40 * 30 mm
Perforation: 13
Sheet composition:
20 for Sheet I;
8 for Sheet II
Size of sheet:
240 * 150 mm for Sheet I;
190 * 120 mm for Sheet II
Printing process: Offset + Engraving
Printing House: Henan Provinal Post Printing Works

The special stamp Black-winged Lovebirds was issued by China Post on August 9, 2016 (Qixi Festival). The full set contains one stamp with a face value of 1.20 yuan.

As the second installment in China Post’s "Love Birds" special stamp series, Black-winged Lovebirds follows the amorous theme established by the 2015 Mandarin Ducks stamp. Issued shortly before Qixi Festival, it aims to carry forward traditional Chinese marriage and love culture through the symbolic imagery of birds. The year 2016 coincided with two notable events: Hunan Province designated the red-billed leiothrix (black-winged lovebird) as its provincial bird, and Xiangyang City was awarded the title of "Hometown of China’s Red-billed Leiothrix". These events provided solid regional cultural support for the stamp’s subject selection.

The stamp draws inspiration from the poetic line "A thousand warbles drift freely on the breeze" by Ouyang Xiu of the Northern Song Dynasty, elevating the red-billed leiothrix’s ecological trait of "male and female staying inseparable" to a cultural symbol of faithful love. Through the interactive postures of paired birds, the design team echoes the literary image of "conjoined lovebirds" from Bai Juyi’s Song of Everlasting Sorrow. As a cultural carrier for Qixi Festival, this stamp serves dual functions: commemorating wedding customs and rituals, and embodying emotional sustenance.

With fine brushwork and rich colors, the stamp depicts a pair of male and female lovebirds nestled among pear blossoms, conveying the theme of loyal love through the design concept of "paired for life, never apart". Produced using the offset and intaglio combination printing process, the stamp was designed by Yu Hui, engraved by Ma Rong, and printed by Henan Post and Telecommunications Printing House.