Stamps ahoy! Sailing Post Office issues new shipping-related products
Avid stamp collectors thronged the Shanghai Sailing Post Office on Tuesday morning to postmark newly released postage stamps on a special envelope bearing the image of an ancient Chinese boat.
In order to promote the spirit of sailing and shipping culture, the post office, which is located on the North Bund, has released a series of products, including 36 colored postage stamps.
Special stamps featuring Chinese ancient boats were unveiled on Tuesday. The one at the top has been issued, the other two will be released over the next two months. A total of 12 will be published within the year.
Each of the postage stamps bears a QR code, a fine image of an ancient Chinese boat as well as postage information of the stamp.
People can read the stories of the boat on the stamp by scanning the code.
Stamp collectors crowd the Shanghai Sailing Post Office for the newly issued postage products.
Along with the stamps, featuring 50 interesting stories of ancient Chinese boats and ships, a book about China's shipbuilding history was also published on Tuesday.
The book, which took four years to compile, was edited by experts from the China Maritime Museum.
It tells the history of how China's shipbuilding technology and craft came into being and developed from scratch since our ancestors who lived near the water created the "hulu yaozhou," a floating device made from gourd that could be used as a life jacket when people needed to hunt in water.
A man collects the newly released postmark.
"I learned the news from my stamp lovers group a few days ago," said a man surnamed Qi, who was postmarking a stack of envelopes on Tuesday.
"I joined the collectors group four years ago, and every time the post office issues new stamps or postmarks, I come to collect them. It is usually twice a month," he told Shanghai Daily.
"And I think it is really nice that by scanning the QR code we can know more about China's sailing history. It attaches more meaning to the postmarks and stamps."
A stamp collector pastes a mark on a themed envelope.
