POSTCARD N.86 - CHINA

Postcrossing postcard sent on the 15th May; received on the 4th July

Postcard image: Blue Cat on tyhe Great Wall of China by Rina Zeniuk 

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Thanks a lot Tou. For once I wish I were a cat, and  a blue one, for that matter!

The great wall is so iconic that i'm sure everyone  dreams of getting to visit once... well, so do I. I'm sure that somewhere along its 21,200 km there must be a spot without the pressure and the hustle and bustle of  the usual selfie loving crowds for an elusive cat like me to enjoy and contemplate 😀.

Stamps, left to right

Popocatépetl (what  aptly translates from the original Nahuatl language into something like the smoky mountain) is the most famous Mexican volcano. With the mouth of its crater standing at 5,426 meters of altitude, it is a very active volcano, its last  eruption having occurred in 2020.

On 22NOV2007 its picture was chosen to ornate one of the two stamps of a joint People's Republic of China  - Mexico issue, both stamps having the same value (1,20 renminbi yuan), highlighting well known mountains  of both countries. The Chinese couterpart was Mount  Gongga, the highest mountain  in the Sichuan province, 7,556 meters high, ranking as the 41st highest peak in the world.

1.20 renminbi yuan issued on 18JUL2015, as part of a three stamp set (1x 80 renminbi fēn + 2 x 1,20 renminbi yuan) celebrating  Mount Qingyuan National Park famed for its granite sculptures and stone inscriptions. On my beautifully drawn stamp one of the most famous sculptures takes centre stage, that of Taoist philosopher and writer Laozi, 

1.20 renminbi yuan stamp part of a five  same face value stamp  set issued on 29NJUL2019 honouring Chinese National Heroes of Modern Times, featuring the image of  Lin Zexu (1785 - 1850) who would become famous for his stern proactive advocacy  of the end to the opium trade,  that would lead to the First Opium War with the British.

The nicely printed postmarks although very clean are unfortunately unreadable for me for obvious reasons...