Scott No: -
Serial number: 2020-1
Values in set: 2
Date of issue: January 5, 2020
Denomination: 240 fen
Designer: Han Meilin
Engraver: Liu Bo
Size of stamps: 36 * 36 mm
Perforation: 13
Sheet composition:
16 for Sheet I;
6 for Sheet II
Size of sheet:
168 * 196 mm for Sheet I;
128 * 180 mm for Sheet II
Printing process: Offset and Engraving
Printing House: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

China Post is scheduled to issue a set of 2 special stamps themed "Gengzi Year" on January 5, 2020. The designs depict two scenes respectively: "The Rat Opens the Heaven" and "Rats Herald a Bumper Year", with a total face value of 2.40 yuan for the full set.

2020 corresponds to the Gengzi Year in the Chinese lunar calendar, which is the Year of the Rat in the Chinese zodiac. As the first animal in the 12 Chinese zodiac signs, the rat is associated with "Zi" in the 12 Earthly Branches. The period from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. each day is known as "Zi Shi" (the Rat Hour). The ancient Chinese believed that the chaotic state of heaven and earth first separated at the beginning of Zi Shi, a time when rats are most active—hence the rat being assigned to Zi Shi. In Chinese zodiac culture, the rat is cherished, revered, and even worshipped by people.

The 4th Series of Chinese Zodiac Stamps delves deeply into cultural connotations, taking "family" as the core concept. It skillfully integrates the characteristics of zodiac animals with the Chinese people's feelings for family and country, endowing the zodiac images with a vivid "joyful family reunion" setting.

Inheriting the creative concept of the 4th Series, the "Gengzi Year" special stamps adopt the freehand decorative painting style. The first stamp, "The Rat Opens the Heaven", portrays an adorable rat leaping into the air, looking up at the sky and striving to break through chaos. It alludes to the folk legend of "the rat biting open the heaven" and symbolizes continuous progress in life during the Year of the Rat. The second stamp, "Rats Herald a Bumper Year", shows two adult rats with several cute baby rats looking into the distance sideways. Around them are peanuts, a symbol of a bumper harvest. With joyful and content expressions, the rats convey wishes for abundant grain harvests, happy and fulfilling lives in 2020, as well as the auspicious meaning of "blessings arriving with the rat".

Designed by the renowned artist Han Meilin, the stamps continue the 4th Series' combined offset and intaglio printing process. Engraved by Liu Bo and printed by Beijing Stamp Factory, the set incorporates two upgraded technologies: first, the debut application of laser engraving for plate-making, which achieves a comprehensive upgrade in engraving precision and detail presentation; second, the first use of colorless fluorescent ink to depict the effect of the sun leaping out, vividly presenting the scene of "the rat biting open the heaven".