Scott No: -
Serial number: 2022-9
Values in set: 4
Date of issue: May 19th, 2022
Denomination: 480 fen
Designer: Yang Zhiying
Size of stamps: 50 * 30 m1612 (6 sets)
Sheet Size: 240 * 150 mm
Printing process: Offset and Engraving
Printing House: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

China Post is scheduled to issue a set of 4 special stamps themed "Ancient Towns of China (IV)" on May 19, 2022. The names of the stamp designs are respectively: Yaoli Town (Fuliang, Jiangxi), Longmen Town (Fuyang, Zhejiang), Anhai Town (Jinjiang, Fujian) and Nanyang Town (Weishan, Shandong). The total face value of the full set of stamps is 4.80 yuan.

Each ancient town represents a different aspect of Chinese culture, together forming a rich and colorful humanistic encyclopedia. The "Ancient Towns of China" stamp series showcases a large number of distinctive ancient towns in China, recording China’s traditional architectural styles, excellent architectural art, traditional folk customs and original spatial patterns. This set is the fourth group of the "Ancient Towns of China" series.

Yaoli Town is located in the eastern part of Fuliang County, Jingdezhen City, Jiangxi Province. Its ancient name was "Yaoli" (meaning "kiln village"), derived from being the birthplace of Jingdezhen ceramics. It has long been known as the "source of porcelain, hometown of tea and sea of forests". Hundreds of ancient Huizhou-style buildings from the Ming and Qing dynasties are scattered in an orderly manner along both banks of the Yaoli River. With upturned eaves, white walls and dark tiles, they are nestled among green mountains and clear waters, embodying the charm of "small bridges, flowing water and rural houses". In 2005, it won several national-level titles in one go, including "China’s Famous Historical and Cultural Town", "Gaoling National Mine Park", "China’s Dual Heritage of Nature and Culture", "National Key Scenic Spot" and "National Forest Park".

Longmen Town is situated in Fuyang District, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, at the foot of Longmen Mountain on the south bank of the Fuchun River. Yan Ziling, a famous scholar of the Eastern Han Dynasty, praised when visiting Longmen Mountain, "This place has beautiful mountains and clear waters, surpassing the Longmen of Lüliang", hence the town got its name. It is a well-preserved mountainous ancient town among the ancient architectural complexes of the Ming and Qing dynasties in the Jiangnan region today. Its architectural types include ancestral halls, halls, ancient pagodas, stone bridges, memorial archways and stages. The most striking buildings include Xiaoyou Hall, Xianzheng Hall and the Yimen (Righteous Gate) of the Ming Dynasty. The houses and corridors in the town are connected, and the long streets and winding lanes are interlinked. Walking into the ancient town makes people feel like being in a maze, which is quite interesting.

Anhai Town is located in the southwest of Jinjiang City, Fujian Province, facing Kinmen Island across the sea. Due to its location against mountains and by the sea with a winding bay, its ancient name was "Wanhai" (meaning "bay sea"). As the southern port of Quanzhou Port, the starting point of the Maritime Silk Road, Anhai’s overseas transportation and trade began in the Tang and Song dynasties and reached its peak in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. It is a unique 800-year-old coastal trade town. A three-li-long (about 1.5 kilometers) old street is the central axis of the ancient town. It starts from the thousand-year-old Longshan Temple in the north and connects to Anping Bridge in the south. This beam-type stone bridge, the longest and best-preserved of its kind in the world, is 2,250 meters long.

Nanyang Town is located in Weishan County, Jining City, Shandong Province, in Nanyang Lake at the northern end of Weishan Lake. Surrounded by water on all sides, it consists of more than 100 natural islands. The ancient town carries extremely rich historical and cultural information, and there is a saying that "Nanyang Town alone contains half of the history of water transport". The ancient Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal runs through the town, forming a unique northern water town landscape where "islands are in the water, rivers are on the islands, and the town is within the lake". More than 30 places of interest and historic sites such as the Guandi Temple, Kuixing Tower and Wengong Shrine remain, preserving the original style.

This set of stamps was designed by Yang Zhiying, using a combination of carved lines and light colors. The overall colors are elegant and beautiful, with a well-proportioned composition, highlighting the unique simple and poetic charm of the ancient towns. Small elements such as figures and boats are added to make the pictures more vivid and lively.

The set of stamps is printed by Beijing Stamp Factory Co., Ltd., continuing the offset-engraving combination printing process of the ancient town series. The carved lines make the style of the ancient towns more vivid and three-dimensional. An orange-red fluorescent ink is specially used; under an ultraviolet lamp, it presents the night lighting effect of the ancient towns, adding a sense of the times to the ancient town stamps.