T36 - Railway Construction

The railway has a history with more than 100 years in China.  The Wusong-Shanghai (or Songhu) railroad [上海淞沪铁路] was the first Chinese railway.  It started construction in 1874, started operation in 1876 for a 15 km railroad.  It was pulled down in 1877 and rebuilt the following year.  It was bombed by Japanese January 28th 1932.

At the time when People's Republic of China was founded in 1949, there were 21,800 km of railway in China, but because of war damages, only 11, 000 km railway can be used.  After China rushed into repair mode, most of the railways were open to traffic by the end of 1950.

In the following several decades, Chinese railway construction has made great progress.  China makes railways under central management control, invests much money in building new railway lines and rebuilding old railway lines every year.

To reflect the railway construction and achievement in China, the Ministry of the Posts and Telecommunications of People's Republic of China released a set of three stamps on October 30, 1979.

(3-1) 8 fen, Electric locomotive  电力机车
(3-2) 8 fen, Newly built railway line  铁路新线
(3-3) 8 fen, Big railway bridge  铁路大桥

(3-1)【Electric locomotive】An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines.  The stamp depicts an electric locomotive leading a series of green train carriages into a tunnel.
 
(3-2)【Newly built railway line】The stamp depicts high railway bridge among tall mountains in the background. This is to show that railway lines are extending from the cities and developed areas into rural and frontier areas.

(3-3)【Big railway bridge】 The stamp depict the railway bridge of the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge.  It is a double-decked road-rail truss bridge across the Yangtze River between Pukou and Xiaguan in Nanjing.  It started construction on January 18, 1960.  It opened to traffic on 1968 and is 1,576 m long.
　　

T36 – Railway Construction  铁路建设 Issue Date: 1979.10.30
Serial Number:	T36
Scott No.:	1527-1529
Michel No.:	1536-1538
Number of stamps in Set:	3
Denomination:	8 fen for stamp 1, 2, 3
Quantity of Issue:	7,500,000 for stamp 1, 2, 3
Perforation:	P11 X 11½
Sheet Composition:	50 (5 X 10) for stamp 1, 2, 3
Size of stamps:	40 X 30 mm for stamp 1, 2, 3
Designer:	Jiang Weijie, Li Qingfa 姜伟杰, 李庆发
Engraver:	Jiang Weijie, Li Qingfa 姜伟杰, 李庆发
Printing Process:	Engraving and photogravure
Printing House:	Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

T35 - Golden Pheasants

The Golden Pheasant is a gamebird native to forests in mountainous areas of western China. 

The adult male is 90–105 cm in length, its tail accounting for two-thirds of the total length.  It is unmistakable with its golden crest and rump and bright red body.  The deep orange "cape" can be spread in display, appearing as an alternating black and orange fan that covers all of the face except its bright yellow eye with a pinpoint black pupil.

The female is much less showy, with a duller mottled brown plumage.  She is darker and more slender than the male of that species, with a proportionately longer tail (half her 60–80 cm length).  The female's breast and sides are barred buff and blackish brown, and the abdomen is plain buff.

Despite the male's showy appearance, these birds are very difficult to see in their natural habitat, which is dense, dark young conifer forests with sparse undergrowth.  Consequently, little is known about their behaviour in the wild.  Although they can fly in short bursts, they are quite clumsy in flight and spend most of their time on the ground.  They tend to eat berries, grubs, seeds and other types of vegetation.

Golden Pheasants lay 8-12 eggs at a time and will then incubate these for around 22–23 days.  Golden Pheasant is included on the list of endangered and protected species of China; and its habitat is protected.

To propagate and promote the concept of "Protection of Endangered Species", on January 25, 1979, the Ministry of the Posts and Telecommunications of People's Republic of China released a set of three stamps on Golden Pheasants.

(3-1) 4 fen, A pair of golden pheasants  竹石金鸡
(3-2) 8 fen, A flying pheasant  金鸡展翅
(3-3) 45 fen, A golden pheasant  金鸡觅食


(3-1)【A pair of golden pheasants】 The stamp depicts a male and female golden pheasant roosting on a rock against a background of bamboo.  The stamp shows the different in color of the bird - brightly colored male and the dull colored female.

(3-2)【A flying pheasant】 The stamp depicts a male bird in flight.

(3-3)【A golden pheasant】 The stamp depicts a male bird seeking for food on the ground.

T35 – Golden Pheasants  金鸡 Issue Date: 1979.1.25
Serial Number:	T35
Scott Number:	1465-1467
Michel Number:	1475-1477
Number of stamps in Set:	3
Denomination:	4 fen for stamp 1 8 fen for stamp 2 45 fen for stamp 3
Quantity of Issue:	8,000,000 for stamp 1, 2 2,000,000 for stamp 3
Perforation:	P11½
Sheet Composition:	40 (10 X 4) for stamp 1, 2, 3
Size of stamps:	31 X 52 mm for stamp 1, 2, 3
Designer:	Liu Shuoren 刘硕仁
Printing Process:	Photogravure
Printing House:	Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

T34 - New Outlook of Water Country

Generally, Water Country (水乡) in China means the south of Yangtze River, where there are a lot of rivers and lakes.  For example, Taihu Lake in Jiangsu Province.

Water Country follows the directive "Take grain as the key link and ensure an all-round development" (“以粮为纲，全面发展”).  Through implementing Farm Mechanization and scientific farming technique, the people of Water Country started on the road to prosperity.

On November 30, 1978, the Ministry of the Posts and Telecommunications of People's Republic of China released a set of stamps, arranged in a block of five, depicting an entire landscape of the new Taihu water country.

(5-1) 8 fen, Transplanting rice seedlings with machine  机械插秧
(5-2) 8 fen, Spraying  喷灌
(5-3) 8 fen, Selection of seeds  选种
(5-4) 8 fen, Thriving trades  五业兴旺
(5-5) 8 fen, Happily delivering public grains  喜送公粮


(5-1)【Transplanting rice seedlings with machine】 This stamp depicts the farmers using machines transplanting rice in the paddy field in Taihu, showing the mechanization level in the water country.
 
(5-2)【Spraying】 This stamp depicts the farmers using spraying irrigation on their paddy fields in Taihu.
 
(5-3)【Selection of seeds】This stamp depicts the farmers doing seed selection in their paddy fields in Taihu.

(5-4)【Thriving trades】 This stamp depicts the thriving trades activities in the water country of Taihu.

(5-5)【Happily delivering public grains】 This stamp depicts the transportation of public grains in the water country of Taihu.
 

T34 – New Outlook of Water Country  水乡新貌 Issue Date: 1978.11.30
Serial Number:	T34
Scott Number:	1453-1457
Michel Number:	1463-1467
Number of stamps in Set:	5
Denomination:	8 fen for stamp 1, 2, 3, 4,5
Quantity of Issue:	6,000,000 for stamp 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Perforation:	P11½
Sheet Composition:	40 (10 X 4) for stamp 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Size of stamps:	31 X 52 mm for stamp 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Designer:	Cheng Chuanli 程传理
Printing Process:	Photogravure
Printing House:	Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

T33 - Traditional Silk Paintings from an Ancient Tomb of the Warring States Period, Changsha

Silk Paintings of the Warring States Period (475–221 BC), were paintings done on silk materials and were used on funeral occasions.  During the funeral procession, the painting was held up in front of the coffin, which was said to bring comfort and calmness to the soul of the death.  When they were unearthed from Tomb of Chu State (楚), the silk paintings were flatly laid upon the partition between the inner coffin and the outer coffin.

These silk paintings are one of the earliest silk paintings discovered in China and are acclaimed as national treasures.  To showcase these silk painting arts to the world, the Ministry of the Posts and Telecommunications of People's Republic of China released a set of two stamps on March 29, 1979.



(2-1) 8 fen, Silk Painting of Lady, Phoenix and Dragon   龙凤引魂升仙帛画
(2-2) 60 fen, Silk painting of Man riding a dragon  人物驭龙帛画


(2-1)【Silk Painting of Lady, Phoenix and Dragon】 This painting has the following dimensions: Length: 31 cm, Width: 22.5 cm.  It was excavated from Tomb of Chu State during the Warring States, Chenjia Mountain (陈家大山楚墓), Changsha, Hunan Province, in February 1949; among scattered cultural relics which survived tomb robberies.  

In the middle of the painting is a slender woman wearing a long skirt, so long in fact that it touches the ground.  Her eyes looking straight forward and one of her arms raising upward, as if in praying.  Unfortunately, this part of the painting is blurred, and we have no idea whether she has anything in her hand.  Her wide sleeves and hanging belts seem to have been decorated with flowering patterns.  To her right appears a phoenix that raises its head and seems to be in flight.  A dragon-like animal with sharp claws appears to the left of the phoenix.  The superstitious belief of that time is the phoenix and the dragon are leading the soul of the dead to heaven.

The drawing has lines drawn in traditional ink and brush style (a kind of Chinese outline drawing) and freehand brushwork (a type of Chinese painting that relies on free strokes and shuns details) give to the vividness of the lady, dragon and phoenix.  The dragon and phoenix are in dynamic movements while the lady is in a static posture, presenting the strong effect of sharp contrast.  This painting is now kept at Hunan Provincial Museum.　


(2-2)【Silk Painting of Man riding a dragon】 This painting has the following dimensions: Length: 37 cm, Width: 28 cm.  The silk cloth is in dark brow colour with flat-line pattern.  It was excavated from No. 1 Tomb, Zidanku, Changsha (子弹库楚墓), Hunan Province, in 1973. 

In the drawing, a short-haired man with a sword who dresses well is riding a dragon by holding the rein.  Looking like a member of the nobility, he is riding a dragon (or a dragon boat) underneath a flowering umbrella.  The presence of a large fish on the lower left of the painting seems to suggest that the dragon, like the fish, is underneath the water.  On the tail of the dragon stands a white stork that, being back to back with the man, is serving as a guard.

Like the lady in the other painting, the man is facing left, as "left" means "West" in most paintings of this kind.  People believe that the dead are going west or that heaven is in the west.  The tassels on the umbrella and the scarves around the man's neck are moving in the right direction, indicating that the dragon and its rider are braving wind at a rapid speed.  The people of that time believed that immortals riding dragons to heaven, and this painting seems to have the same meaning.  This painting is now kept at Hunan Provincial Museum.

T33 – Traditional Silk Paintings from an Ancient Tomb of the Warring States Period, Changsha  中国绘画 ---- 长沙楚墓帛画 Issue Date: 1979.3.29
Serial Number:	T33
Scott Number:	1469-1470
Michel Number:	1479-1480
Number of stamps in Set:	2
Denomination:	8 fen for stamp 1 60 fen for stamp 2
Quantity of Issue:	6,000,000 for stamp 1 2,000,000 for stamp 2
Perforation:	P11
Sheet Composition:	28 (7 X 4) for stamp 1, 2
Size of stamps:	40 X 54 mm for stamp 1, 2
Designer:	Shao Bolin 邵柏林
Printing Process:	Photogravure
Printing House:	Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works