Sunday 17 November 2013

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

Sunday 3 November 2013

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