POSTCARD N.185 - CHINA.

Postcrossing Postcard sent on the 8th June; received on the 9th July 2025.

Postcard image: Mount Everest under a stary sky - Shigatse, Tibet, China

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A very nice Postcrossing postcard with beautifull stamps 谢谢 Lili.

Postcrossing is really fun. Yes, I don't use it that much, because my efforts are more directed at my cover collection, but receiving a normal postcard illustrated with a picture of a far off place (or not that far, for that matter) with nice stamps on it is a very rewarding thing.

On the other hand, receiving a promotional postcard cut from a thin paper magazine or with an image of a product, or from a hotel or restaurant somewhere, as has happened to me before, is really not my cup of tea.

I like postcards for what they were initially intended to be: little windows into the world, its places, its peoples, its achievements, etc

And Lili's postcard sure fits the bill: Mount Everest by night, under a starry sky. Yes the photo could be better, that bloody lamppost to the left of the image is blowing all the highlights off , but your gaze is still directed at the centre of the image where the unmistakable shape of the Earth’s highest mountain summit is clearly recognizable. 

Strangely, this is not a place that would rank high on my list of places to visit. The images of all the garbage left by climbers and the horrific and stupid queues to attain the summit (not that I would ever try to do it, of course)  really make me think that people are getting stranger by the day.....

anyway, here it is:

Lili used two very beautiful stamps on the cover:

The 200 Chinese renminbi fēn shows Tiandu Peak over clouds, a 1810 m peak in the Huangshan mountains, a UNESCO World heritage Site, located  in the South of the Anhui Province of the People's Republic of China.

The  Stamp is part of an 8 x 200 renminbi fēn issued on 20OCT1997, on the occasion of UPU's 22nd Congress, held in Beijing.

The 3 Yuan stamp is the highest denomination stamp of a 9 stamp set (6 x 1,20; 2 x 1,1,50; 3 Yuan) issued on 15JUN2024, illustrated with views of the Qinling Mountains, a mountain range in southern Shaanxi Province, whose highest peak (Mount Taibai) tops at 3,767 meters.

Sadly I could not trust google translator to clarify the postmark for me, since it gave me different options each time I pointed the camera at it :-).

 

COVER N. 547 - CHINA

Postmark: Shangai (?) 01.12.2024

Posted on the 1st December; Received on the 30th December 2024

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And now for something completely different (and I do think that beginning a new year with a quote from Monty Python is thoroughly adequate....😀)... drum roll, please.....

The Asian International Stamp Exhibition 2024 took place in Shangai, China from the 29th November till the 3rd December 2024, subordinated to the theme "Stamps present Asian Culture". 

According to a reference in China news, some 69 countries and regions were represented in the event, the competition section of which numbered more than 1600 frame exhibits plus 48 philatelic literature pieces... hard times for the jury.....

Ravindra kindly sent me this rather umcommon piece  featuring a comemorative  mechanical stamp and cancellation, which bears the exhibition's logo. Thank you so much, Ravi!

Oh, and by the way:

Happy 2025 to all of you.... !

COVER N. 454 - CHINA

Postmark: ? 26.04.2024

Posted on the 24th April; received on the 28th May 2024

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What a terrific set of stamps. These are really beautiful works of philatelic art. Thank you so much for this great cover, Xie xie Zhang!

Pigeons are often seen, by us, city dwelling people, as a nuisance. They clog gutters; like gulls, they are rather democratic in what concerns dropping whatever they feel like over the casual passer by (don't ask me how I know it....); they contribute to the degradation of buildings and limestone based sculptures, due to the acidity of their droppings; they over procreate, and so on and so forth.

But it is not their fault, right? They have to live somewhere and it was us who brought them from their original habitat in cliffs, to the cities, where they feel so much at ease.

Also one cannot forget the invaluable services pigeons provided when telecommunications were yet to be made practical use of or during war times.. in fact there was a time when My friend, Mr. Postman could have been My friend, Mr Postpigeon...

But there are many more species of pigeons than the very common domestic pigeon (Columba livia), and when you stop to look at them, they are really beautiful birds, with their metallic sheens and well proportioned bodies.

The beautiful four 1.20 Yuan stamp set on the cover, was issued by the Chinese Post on 05NOV2022 and the stamps are illustrated with relief images of the following species (l to r; t to b):

- Common wood pigeon (Columba palumbus), a large species, in fact the largest of all pigeons, it seems, which is a common site in all Eurasia, including in the park where I often go to walk a bit by the end of the day. Here it is known by the name of Pombo Torcaz;

- Speckled wood pigeon (Columba hodgsonii), an Asiatic species, occurring in  mountane  forests of Kashmir to Northeast India, eastern Tibet, central China, Yunnan and Myanmar;

- Snow pigeon (Columba leuconota), another Asian and high altitude dwelling species;

-  Eastern rock dove, (Columba rupestris), the Asian counterpart to our common or rock pigeon, the giveaway difference being a broad white band on the black tail. 

So as to complete postage, Zhang included another 1.20 Yuan stamp on the cover, issued on 20APR2023, celebrating the centenary of Yunnan university, which although established in December 1922, only began to enrol students in April of the subsequent year.

COVER N. 429 - CHINA

Postmark: ? 04.02.2024 

Posted on the 2nd February; received on the 19th March 2024

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Once again I receive a beautifully and carefully prepared airmail envelope from China, embellished not only with a full set of stamps but also with a most beautiful handwriting. 谢谢, Xu!

The Yangtzi River Delta Region is one of  China's most economically vibrant regions, being responsible for about 1/4 of the country's GDP.  

With the aim of maximizing its role as the country's top economic driver, the integrated development of the region was awarded national strategy status  in November 2018, under the framework of the Regional Integrated Development Plan for the Yangtze River Delta, aiming to  promote integrated regional development on the principles of “coordinated development”, “joint protection of a green environment”, “win win strategy of opening up”, and “sharing the fruits of development in people’s livelihood”

Five years after the decision its fruits seem to be ripping, with the region's GDP increasing at an average annual rate of 5.5% , Shangai being the locomotive pulling the development train.

On 01DEC2023, China Post issued  the set of four 1,20 Yuan stamps dedicated to the Regional Integrated Development Plan for the Yangtze River Delta, which can be seen on the cover.

From left to right, the illustration in the stamps highlight some strategic aims of the Plan, namely  "High-Level Collaboration Among Companies"; "Integration of Public Service Provisions"; "Science and Technology Industries" and "Protection of the Ecological Environment".

POSTCARD N.110 - CHINA

Postcrossing postcard sent on the 1st August, received on the 17th August 2023

Postcard image: Suzhou 
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I have a terrible handwriting. so much so that sometimes not even I can understand it....and this must be the ultimate ´paradox...

So, I am not really used to see many handwritings more difficult to decipher than my own... and yet...

I got this lovely card from Mengyu, and I really liked it... BUT, I could not understand a word of it, so strange was his handwriting. Not that I am criticizing, the same must happen so some of my readers, it's just that it is a rather unusual fact.

I also don't have a clue as to what the beautiful image on the postcard depicts... I did some investigation via google, but could not come up with any image resembling the scene :-(. 

The  fish stamp depicts an Indian Ocean Chevron Butterflyfish (Chaetodon chrysurus)  and is part of a souvenir sheet comprising eight  200 Chinese renminbi fēn stamps plus a vignette, themed on  Seafloor World-Coral Reef Ornamental Fish and issued on 22DEC1998. 

The Microraptor, unfolding its four wings on the second stamp, was issued on  19MAY2017 as part of a 6 stamp souvenir sheet dedicated to Chinese Dinosaurs. The issue also comprised another souvenir sheet this time featuring only one stamp, the gigantic Mamenchisaurus... quoting directly from Wikipedia: "Most species were medium to large size sauropods, around 15 to 26 meters (49 to 85 ft) in length and possibly up to 35 meters (115 ft) based on two undescribed vertebrae".

COVER N. 287 - CHINA

Postmark: Concepcion  - ? -  29.06.23

Posted on the 26th June; Received on the 26h July 2023

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One the pleasures of hobbies is exchanging with other hobbyists around the world. Depending on your hobby of choice exchanges can be physical, as for instance in the case of collection oriented hobbies such as the one that occupies these posts, or immaterial, focusing on opinions or experiences, as in hobbies with a less tangible nature, like writing or photography.

As such, every once in a while I get a request from a fellow collector asking for a swap of stamps or covers and I, of course, always try to correspond, since I too have requested the same from others without ever having been let down.

So when a fellow Chinese collector asked for a swap I promptly agreed and as a result I have been able to add a few beautiful Chinese fauna stamps to my small collection.

The best thing is that in order to send the stamps you have to send a letter, and a letter needs stamps, so swapping it is always a very productive task, form the hobby fundamentals standpoint   😀

So thanks a lot Ruinam for the letters and the much appreciated stamps.

- On 16JUN2013 China Post issued a six 1.20 Yuan stamp set plus a one 6 Yuan stamp souvenir sheet featuring images of bronze buddhist statues. The first two stamps on the cover are part of this set and they feature two Bodhisattvas: Guanyin and Ksitigarbha, respectively.

According to wikipedia, a bodhisattva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood, Guanvin being a feminine figure associated with compassion and Kṣitigarbha a bhuddist monk.

On 20MAR2017, China Post issued a 4 stamp set  (2 x 1.20 + 1.50 Yuan) illustrated with paintings  celebrating "The Seasons". 

The two 1.50 Yuan stamps used on the cover were dedicated to winter and autumn.

The postmark is illegible, with the exception of the date of posting.

COVER N. 267 - CHINA

Postmark: ? - 03.06.2023

Posted on the 3rd June; Received on the 16th June 2023

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Thanks, Ruinan, for another cover with an interesting set of stamps.

Literature is an essential part of our development. 

It's main benefit is that it allows us to travel when physical means to do so aren't available as only by travelling, or should I say, discovering, can we start to realise that the world extends much further away that our own backdoor, and that the way I see it, might not be the way someone else does. 

Literature can even allow us to travel through time, without the need to invest in a DeLorean. 

Of all the things I have been grateful for throughout my life, the day my father introduced me to the joys of a public library in Faro, when I was just going to primary school, has to rank amongst the top handful. Since then I've lost count of the many, many hours of absolute pleasure I have spent indulging in the almost sacred ritual of pushing my right index over a sheet of printed paper to flip  page after page...

Heroes, villains, places, habits, thoughts, doubts, certainties, discoveries, disquiets, interrogations, solutions.. all this and a huge lot more have i found in Literature, in its many guises. 

The social importance of Literature is acknowledged in many forms all over the world, mainly though the contests as prizes awarded to writers. but to me, the most relevant proof of the attention that is given to literature lies in the work of that most times unsung hero, the Translator, for if the writer is to be blamed for the act of creation, the translator is the one that makes the writer's work travel past the boundaries of idiom, 

A good translation is a comfort to a good book, a bad one is a bed of nails....

And we now face a terrible danger, I feel, not only in the form of automated creation but also of automated translation. 

Some time ago (I think I have mentioned this before, here on the blog) I've bought a copule of Emilio Salgari's Sandokan books in a new Portuguese edition (I had  to read them. It was a personal thing that had been with me since my early teens...). and the translation sucked... I strongly suspect that AI translation was involved and that there was no human revision of the results.... cheap to produce, the more so since the original texts are already in Public Domain, but decidedly cheap in the results...

If this is a sign of things to come, it discomforts me, since I really think a good translation is almost as important as the original text in order to ensure the wok's "travelability" trough the libraries of non speakers of the original language in which it was written.

If not, how on hell would I read a Chinese novel?

The four stamps (3x1,20 + 1 x1,50 Yuan) on the cover are a stamp set issued on 17APR2023. Further to the 4 stamps, a souvenir sheet with a 6 Yuan stamp was also issued.

The stamps and sheet set are the 5th, and probably final issue on the subject "Journey to the West" in a series dedicated to Chinese Classic Literature.

"Journey to the west" or Xi Yóu Ji,  is a classic novel, written in the 16th century, in the Ming Dinnasty,  probably by Wu Cheng'en.

Quoting directly from Wikipedia, on the subject of the 100 chapter novel: "(it) is an extended account of the legendary pilgrimage of the Tang dynasty Buddhist monk Xuanzang, who travelled to the "Western Regions" (Central Asia and India) to obtain Buddhist sūtras (sacred texts) and returned after many trials and much suffering."

COVER N. 266 - CHINA

Postmark: ? - 03.06.2023

Posted on the 3rd June; Received on the 16th June 2023

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Roses are red, and violets are blue.... so went Sandy Denny's immortal  "Old Fashion Waltz", but to my mind, roses have always been...  rosy.... Bang! This takes me back to Fairport Convention again....and to Dave Swarbrick's Rosie, the perfect soundtrack for this blog entry fuelled by one of the two Covers I received on the very same day from Ruinan in China. Thank you so much, Ruinan!

Back to roses, then.... The humble wild rose, the members of the genus Rosa, that are later declined into hundreds of cultivars....

Here's a photo of a wild rose I took in central Portugal a couple of years ago

 

I confess to have mixed feelings regarding Roses, though. If they do look nice and  sometimes smell very well indeed, some of the cultivars that are so common in urban gardens, have the most  annoying pricks there are (if you disconsider Bougainvilleas...)!

This I know from personal experience, and year after year, when the time has come to prune the shrub, I have a rather unpleasant conversation with a rose  plant that I have in my garden, which is always trying to inflict serious damages on my rather soft and delicate skin! And the worst is that,  most of the times, it is successful in its intent!

The stamps on Ruinan's cover are the four constituents of a set of 1,20 Yuan stamps issued on 20May2020, dedicated to... you've guessed it, roses. Although separated here on the cover, the stamps were issued as panes of four se-tenant, in sheets with two blocks of 4 stamps.

Left to right we have a white rose, a double petal pink rose, a single petal pink rose and a red rose (although it looks as pink as the others, to me...)

Roses are associated with love and lovers and it is no surprise to see hearts and swallows, and swans in the background of each stamp. The main image in each stamp is also encompassed by an embossed heart with little glittering dots on the embossed line. a bit kitschy to my taste, but the rose illustrations are very good.

COVER N. 254 - CHINA  

Postmark: ? 08.02.2023

Posted on the 20h April; Received on the 18th May 2023
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One of the advantages of being out in the open with this blog of mine  is that once in a while I get mail from a fellow collector somewhere on  another spot of our ellipsoid, asking for a swap.

That's what happened with Ruinan, who contacted me from China and from whom I got this envelope graced with 4 nice stamps, as Chinese stamps usually are. Thank you so much Ruinan.

If one looks at the date on the postmark though, it is easy to conclude that the ride wasn't easy, since the journey between China and Portugal took three and a half months to conclude, which, judging from other mail I got from the same country is not that typical.

The reason for this is clear though when one looks at the stamped "Surface" indication on the cover that was applied by the Chinese post office, even though Ruinan tells me that the amount of postage he used was correct for air mail... 

In the end it got here, that's what matters, and with this little curio embedded, so...all end well that ends well.

Stamps, left to right:

- 80 renminbi fēn stamp, part of a 6 stamp set (3 x80 fen ; 3x 1.20 yuan) dedicated to ancient philosophers, issued on 07OCT2019. The stamp is illustrated with the effigy of philosopher  Wang Shouren (1472 - 1529).

- 1,20 yuan stamp, part of an eight 1,20 Yuan stamp set issued in two sheets of 4X2 on19MAY2013 dedicated to  Chinese old towns.

The image on the stamp is from Tangjiawan Town, located on the West bank of the Pearl River estuary, quite close to Macau.

I find these old town Chinese stamps with their line and colour paintings  really a thing of beauty.

- 1,50 stamps part of  a four (2x1,20 + 2 x1,50 Yuan) stamp set issued on 30MAR2017, dedicated to Chinese classic literature. 

The work invoked by the images on the stamps is "Journey to the west" or Xi Yóu Ji,  a classic novel written in the 16th century, in the Ming Dinasty,  probably by Wu Cheng'en.

Quoting directly from Wikipedia, on the subject of the 100 chapter novel: "(it) is an extended account of the legendary pilgrimage of the Tang dynasty Buddhist monk Xuanzang, who traveled to the "Western Regions" (Central Asia and India) to obtain Buddhist sūtras (sacred texts) and returned after many trials and much suffering."

COVER N. 239 - CHINA

Postmark: ?  07.04.2023 

Posted on the 7h April; Received on the 24th April 2023
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What could be better to affix a full set of aircraft related stamps than a blue envelope?

Thanks a lot Xu ! What a great cover!

There was a time when the People's Liberation Army Air Force was lagging behind the world's most developed armed forces air branches.....something which in itself was not a bad thing and even an example to be followed by the world's most developed armed forces air branches, if not for the fact that armies will always be the supreme contradiction. 

They are expensive, very expensive, way too expensive..., their primary mission is rather nasty and hopefully theoretical.. but then comes a day when, for no apparent reason, someone decides to trespass onto your backyard....and then... glory to the heroes, we shall sing, while they will unfortunately succumb.

Millions of years of evolution, and we still behave like apes! Damn! 

I like aircraft. I have always been fascinated by the way they conquer gravity and shorten distances and their  evolution  is also a measure of Man's ability to always go one step further in our relation with the physical universe in which we dwell. I am also aware that most developments in civil aviation (as a good deal of  the technologies that are so present in our daily lives that we take them for granted), from the moment someone thought about using an aircraft in a conflict context to this day, have mostly been side effects of  military activity and research, which in time have led to front page pictures like the ones that come out of  Ukraine these days, Sudan, Yemen, Syria......

Still, all the beautiful machines on the excellent cover Xu sent me could be used for other purposes then playing a stupid war game in real time, with real people.

I'm sure the Chinese Government is aware of this fact and will no doubt exploit the full capabilities of them (surely such a mean machine looking aircraft as the Chengdu J-20 can have its use outside of a war envelope: research and development, other scientific purposes, although I am not naive to the point of forgetting that Taiwan is un unsettled question...)

There was a time when the People's Liberation Army Air Force was lagging behind the world's most developed armed forces air branches.... not any more, or at least large steps are being taken to ensure that is not so....

The stamps on  the cover  constitute a set of four 1,20 Chinese renminbi yuan stamps issued on 17APR2021, dedicated to Chinese Military Aircraft.

From left to right:

- The Chengdu J-20 "Mighty Dragon" is at the forefront of the Chinese military industry. Conceived as a twin-jet all weather air superiority fighter with stealth capabilities,  the J-20 made its maiden flight in 2011 and was introduced operationally with the PLAAF in 2017, China thus becoming the second only power to field stealth aircraft, after the introduction of USAF's F-117, in October 1983.

According to the potted notes on Wikipedia, more than 210 J-20 have already been built.

- The Xi'an Y-20 Kunpeng "Chubby Girl" is a military transport aircraft, designed and developed by the Xi'an Aircraft Industrial Corporation.

The Y-20 can transport a payload of up to 66 tons over a range of 7800 kms. First flown in 2013, in entered operational service in 2016.

- The  AVIC AG600 Kunlong "Water Dragon" is an amphibious aircraft developed by AVIC - Aviation Industry Corporation of China, which is still under development, its first flight having occurred in December, 2017. 

It has a Maximum Take Off  Weight of 53.5 Tons and a range of 4,500 Km and it will see operational use with the Chinese Coast Guard.

- The  Harbin Zhi-20 "Divine Eagle" is a medium-lift utility helicopter produced by the Harbin Aircraft Industry Group (HAIG). 

It's maiden flight took place in 2013, and in entered service with the Amy, Navy and Police forces in 2019.

Unfortunatley, I cannot decipher the postmark, although it is very clearly apposed

COVER N.188 - CHINA

Postmark: 江苏苏州 (Suzhou, Jiangsu) and 干将西路 (Ganjiang West Road)  21.11.22

Posted on the 21st November?; Received on the 16th December 2022

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On receiving this beautiful cover, the first thought that came to my mind was "I have seen this before". And yes, I had. Not exactly the same, but the very colourful and interesting  stamps  that Xu so carefully arranged on this envelope mirror to a great extent those that were issued by the Portuguese Post in a set dedicated precisely to the same theme: protected natural areas. So Thanks a lot Xu, it really is a most interesting addition to my collection.

On  the 11th October 2021, the first day of the United Nations Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity China - COP 15 (part 1) chaired by China and held virtually from the city of Kunming in China, the host country officially designated its first five national parks.

The decision, in a country that has the third highest number of animal species and is home to 34,000 plant species, and which in later years has become synonymous with massive pollution issues generated by  an outstanding industrial growth, can only be regarded as a welcome effort to ensure that all this biodiversity is preserved and fostered in the future.

In the wake of this decision  China's Postal Administration issued on 05NOV2022 the stamp set used on the cover, comprising 5 stamps of the same face value, highlighting the new 5 National Parks.

Each of the stamps, with a face value of  1.20 Chinese renminbi yuan,  is illustrated with a photo of the National Park it celebrates, as well as with a "medallion" with a photo of a fauna species that I presume is emblematic of it.

Left to right; top to bottom:

Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park

The park is located in the South China’s island province of Hainan  and its numbers, just like those of its companions, are staggering, for it extends over a total area of 4,269 square kilometers, of which more than 95% is occupied with the largest rain-forest of the country.

A biodiversity haven with 3,653 species of wild vascular plants registered the park  it is also the sole place in the world where the Hainan gibbon, considered to be the world’s most critically endangered primate can be found (30 surviving in the wild).

The Gibbon is featured on the stamp's medallion, along with what I presume to be Hainan Eld's deer, another of the rare species that call the park home. 

Wuyishan National Park

Located in the southeast China's Fujian Province, the park occupies a total area of about 1,000 square Km, which includes the Wuyi Mountain Nature Reserve, established in 1979, these mountains having been classified by the UNESCO as a World heritage Site since 1999, for their cultural, scenic and biodiversity importance.

The medallion on the stamp is illustrated with a female Elliot's pheasant, endemic and under protection in China;  the Wuyi subspecies of the  golden-spotted beaked phoenix butterfly, apparently the rarest butterfly in the world, endemic to China, and a frog I couldn't not positively identify.

Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park 

Again the numbers speak for themselves: covering an area of 14,065 square km, covered in 93+% by forest, the park located in both the Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces, is home to the largest population of Siberian tigers and leopards which both feature on the stamp's medallion, along with one of its preys,  probably a Sika deer.

Sanjiangyuan National Park

Located in the Tibetan Plateau, in the  Qinghai Province,  this is Chinas's largest National Park, occupying a staggering 123,000 square kilometers and the birthplace of three of the most important rivers of Asia: the Yangtze, the Yellow and the Mekong.

Immensely rich and diverse in terms of fauna, the park is also home to the Chiru, or Tibetan antelope, which features in the stamps medallion.

Giant Panda National Nark

Ask anyone to name an animal associated with China and I'm sure the Panda will be the unanimous answer.

The majority of the population (73%) of this cute little giant, which now numbers more than 1,800 individuals after almost having gone for good from the face of the blue planet, inhabits reserves located in this National Park, located in  Central China in the Sichuan, Ningxia, and Shaanxi provinces.

It is thus no surprise that the animal chosen to illustrate the stamp's medallion would be the Giant Panda, and If I am not mistaken, on the background there are also images of  its unrelated "cousin", the Red Panda.

Just for the sake on comparison, here's a peek at the stamps on Portuguese protected areas I mentioned at the beginning of this post.

Left to right, top to bottom:

Parque Natural da Serra da Estrela and the Lagartixa-de-montanha (Iberolacera monticola);

Parque Natural de Montesinho and the Veado-Vermelho (red deer -  Cervus elaphu);

Parque Natural das Serras de Aire e Candeeiros and a fossil of a bivalve mollusc from the jurassic period;

Parque Natural do Vale do Guadiana and a Francelho (Lesser Kestrel - Falco naumanni);

Parque Natural da Ria Formosa and a Caimão (Porphyrio porphyrio)

image credits: CTT

 COVER N.153 - CHINA

Postmark: 22.07.2022
Posted on 22 July; received on the 17th August 2022
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I have written here before of how glad I am every time I receive one of these classic air mail envelopes with their red white and blue striped borders. I have also written about of how I like to see an elegant handwriting, the more so since my own is nothing less than awful. So this beautiful and carefully composed cover reunites the best of three worlds: a classic air mail envelope; addressed in a beautiful handwriting and a full set of interesting stamps plus an extra... Excellent. Thank you so much Xu!

The silk road network stretched from China to Europe allowing commerce to flow between these so far off extremities until the 15th century, when the Ottoman  empire ceased trading with the West. By then, though,  a new route had been opened,  through the discovery of the sea route to India by Vasco da Gama, one of the great sea faring feats of the Portuguese.

Along the 6,400 Km of the road, many were (and still are) the places of wonder that are nowadays source for countless documentaries and travel magazine articles but as usual, increased wealth such as the road would generate along its way, through trade, would generate  artefacts since they are essential to all activities and  some of them rather than having a functional nature would be but clear indicators of the  wealth of their possessors.

China Post, on 12JUN2021 issued the set of  four 1,20 stamps dedicated to Cultural treasures of the silk road that Xu used on my cover and they depict 4 such artefacts. Left to right: a celadon plate with chrysanthemum pattern from the Song Dynasty; a silver container of the Han dynasty; a celadon jug with date palm design from the  Tang Dynasty, and a  glazed  vase, of the five Dynasty era.

The last stamp on my cover was issued on 03DEC2008 and as far as I could understand from Stampworld catalogue and Colnet, is a stamp dedicated to Calligraphy and is entitled "Harmony”. The original stamp contains a se-tenant label that is missing from the stamp om the cover, with what I presume is the writing for "Harmony" in Mandarin. 

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...

 COVER N.83 - China

Postmark: 2 postmarks Suzhou (?) - 18FEB22 / 20FEB22
Posted on the  18th February on the 16th March
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A cover from China with quite an interesting set of stamps. Thank you so much Xu!

Joint issues usually have the added bonus of presenting the viewer with discovery opportunies on the countries involved, and this was not an exception.

Once again the quality of the handwriting on the address lines made me feel ashamed of my nothing short of cuneiforme handwritting....

The chosen theme for this joint issue was Bridges, something that I think is pretty popular with many philatelists. As usual, I had to resort to Wikipedia to enlighten myself about the beautiful images on the two 1.20 yuan stamps, issued on 11DEC2021.

The stamp on the top of the cover shows the Guangji Bridge on the Han River, East of Chaozhou, in the province of Guangdong, a protected major historic and cultural site.

The present day bridge, spanning 517.95 metres, inherits its location from the past many iterations of this important infrastructure, the first having been built  in 1170 by Zeng Wang, a magistrate of the Song Dinasty as a boat bridge.

The boats were to be replaced over time by pontoons and piers, and the Guangji bridge would end up getting a mix of beam, arch and pontoon bridges features.

A curious charachreristic of the pontoon section is that it can open to let boats cross it.

 The second stamp is illustrated with the image of the Khaju bridge, in Isfahan, Iran.

This 133 metres long bridge  was built circa 1650, in the reign of king Abbas II and it connects both margins of river Zayanderud.

Originally it was used as a teahouse and as well as bridge it also functioned as a weir to regulate the flow of the Zayanderud.

The 50 fen stamp is part of a two stamp set dedicated to Environmental Protection ,issued on 01JAN2004.

This stamp highlights the "prevention and control of desertification", while its companion 4.5 renminbi yuan stamp calls on our attention to the protection of biodiversity.

Of note is the fact that the cover presents two postmarks issued by the same office. One machine applied in red with a 3.5 Yenand a manual cancellation in black,  both applied on the same day.

POSTCARD N.26 - China
Postcrossing postcard posted on the 25th July; received on the 4th September (from 23AUG till 4SEP I was away, so the date of reception could be any day within that interval)
Postcard image: Guilin Lijiang River in Guangxi
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Another postcard from China and, as usual, containing lots of nice stamps. Thanks Vikihoo.

The photo on the card is another quintessential image of the famous fishing tradition using cormorants that made this region famous amongst the National Geographic oriented blokes, like the one writing this words....

I would really love to go and see it by myself, even though I think that the tradition is now maintained mostly for the sake of tourism, because other than the fishermen, the river and the scenery most be really worth enjoying...

Stamps, left to right:

20 fen stamp, part of a 2 stamp set issued on 01JUN1996, (20 and 30 fen) themed on Helping People.

60 fen stamp, part of a 4 stamp set (60 fen;80 fen - 2 stamps; 3 yuan) issued on 08AUG2006, announcing the 2008 Olympic games of Beijing in both regular and self-adhesive variants. The basketball player image on the stamp is textured.

1,20 and 3 Yuan Stamps - a full set issued on 24MAR2008, celebrating the 2008 Beijing Olympiad torch relay.

COVER N.32 - China

Postmark:  - 06AGO21 Tianjin(?)
Posted on the  the  6th August; received on the 4th September. (from 23AUG till 4SEP I was away, so the date of reception could be any day within that interval)
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Upon returning from a fortnight of communion with nature in the Pyrenees, in Spain, Andorra and France, I eagerly opened my letterbox to find this nice cover full of stamps, sent from China. Thanks a lot Zhang.

Judging from the mail I've received from China since I've started my blog, it seems that Chinese collectors do always their best to include lots of stamps on their covers and postcards, and this was no exception, with no fewer than 5 large stamps adorning the nice airmail envelope. 

Stamps, left to right:

Honouring 2017 Journalist’s day, the 1,20 Yuan stamp was issued on 01NOV2017 as a single stamp set. With a fountain pen – the writer’s  master tool – taking centre stage,  other media and communication symbols  associated with journalism fill its background.

The next two 1,20 Yuan stamps were issued on 15MAY2020,as part of a 6 even priced stamp set, dedicated to Ancient Asian civilisations. The first one shows a jade artefact from the Liangzhu culture, that once occupied the Yuhang county in East China’s Zhejiang province. Quoting from Chinadaly “The Liangzhu culture was the last Neolithic jade culture in the Taihu Basin of the Yangtze river delta. The culture dates back 4,300 to 5,300 years, roughly contemporaneous with the old kingdom period in ancient Egypt and the Summer civilization in Mesopotamia”.

Mohenjo-Darno, (mound of the dead men), an archaeological site in the province of Sindh, Pakistan, is the subject of the second stamp. Wikipedia tells me that  this site was “built around 2500 BCE, it was one of the largest settlements of the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation, and one of the world's earliest major cities, contemporaneous with the civilizations of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Minoan Crete, and Norte Chico”.

The last 2 1,20 Yuan stamps were issued on 05NOV2018, as part of a  2 even priced set commemorating the 2018 International Import Exposition, organised by the China International Import Expo Bureau ans the National Exhibition and Convention Centre (shanghai) Co. Ltd.,held in the National Exhibition and Convention Centre of Shanghai, from 5-10 November, 2018. The 2 stamps of this issue were also issued included in a 8 stamp (4 of each) minisheet.

POSTCARD N.19 - China
Postcrossing postcard posted on the 22nd July; received on the 29th July
Potscard image: Neumünster sights. the bottom 2 images show Vicelinkirsche (left) and the Town Hall (right)
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Another Postcard from a far off country landed on my mailbox. Yue, whom I thank for it, explained that this was an official postcard issued in connection with the 2018 Olympic Games held in Beijing.

Yue also draws my attention to the fact that a special laser printing process was used on it, and this is apparent in the little printed transparent sunbursts that seem to animate when you move the card against a light source. Nice

the images on the card are those of the official Games mascots, and we have left to right: Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying, Nini.

Consulting the official International Olympic Committee site, I learn that joining the names together we get the phrase "Bei Jing Huan Ying Nin", which translates as Welcome to Beijing". An interesting short summary of the simbology of the mascots can be found here.

Two additional stamps to the pre-printed stamp on the card were used to mail it to Portugal:

A 1.20 yuan stamp issued on 19MAY2016, part of a 6 even priced stamp set, themed on China’s ancient towns. The beautiful image on the stamp depicts  an old Arch in the ancient Town of Qinyan, in the Guizhou Province. another stamp of this set was used on postcard #5.

A 1.50 yuan stamp issued on 10SEP2016 as part of a 6 stamp set (2 x1,5 Yuan + 4 x1,20 Yuan) dedicated to the Maritime Silk Road. The stamps on this set were also issued enclosed in a minisheet.

the 80 fen stamp dedicated to the Benjing 2008 Olympics is pre-printed on the card.

Sadly I cannot read the postmark.

 POSTCARD N.5 - China

Postcrossing Postcard posted on the 3rd June; received on the 1st JUly.
Potscard image: Tunxi Ancient Street Hangshan City, old gate of the city
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My first ever correspondence from China. Nice!

Calling on the help of Wikipedia, since I confess my ignorance regarding Huangshan city and region, I learn that this is the main city of one  of the most important tourist regions in China, famous for the Yellow Mountains from which it gets its name, the region being a choice destination for landscape photographers, trekkers and all those who love nature at its best… (note to self: hmmm this seems to tickle my fancy….)

No fewer than 5 stamps grace the writing side of the postcard. I love it when I get a card or cover full of stamps such as this one. Thanks a lot Iris.

Left to right:

The 50 fen stamp is part of a two stamp set (50 and 540 fen) issued on 15MAY1998, to commemorate the then forthcoming 22^nd Universal Postal Union Congress, held in Beijing in 1999.

Another 50 fen stamp of 1998 extraction, part of a 2 stamp joint issue with Switzerland set (50 and 540 fen) issued on 25NOV1998. The stamp image depicts  Lake Léman and the Chillon Castle. The other stamp on the set depicts The slender West lake and the Twenty-four Bridge in Yangzhou.

The 80 fen stamp is part of a se-tenant strip of  three stamps (80fen; 1,20 Yuan and 1,50 Yuan) dedicated to the Yin Ruins, relics of the ancient capital of late Shang Dynasty (1600-1046BC). It was issued on 13JUL2016 and it shows an inscribed bone.

Yet another 50 fen stamp of 1998 from yet another joint issue, this time with Germany, on 20AUG1998, dedicated to World Heritage sites.The lovely illustration on the stamp depicts Wurzburg castle. The companion stamp on this set depicts the Puning Temple in Chengde.

The final stamp, issued on 19MAY2016, is part of a 6 even priced (1,20 yuan) stamp set, themed on China’s ancient towns. This is the second issue of a series that began in 2013, as far as I could investigate. The beautiful image on the stamp depicts the Ancient Town of Huangyao, in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

Another stamp from this same set was used on postcard #19