On January 5, the commemorative stamp for the year of the rat "The Gengzi Year" special stamp release ceremony was held at the National Museum of China. The designer and renowned artist Han Meilin and the chairman of the board of China Post Group Corporation Liu Aili unveiled the special stamps of "Gengzi Year" together.

2020 is Gengzi Year in the lunar calendar, which is a year of the rat. The set of commemorative stamps for the year of rat has carried on the creative ideas of the fourth round of Chinese zodiac stamps. Based on the core concept of "family", it designs a vivid image of "Happy Family" for the Chinese zodiac.

The set consists of two stamps and one booklet, crated with a decoration technique of half freehand.

The first stamp is called “The rat opening the heaven”, inspired by a folk legend “The rat bites to open the heaven”. A cute mouse jumps into the air to bite apart the chaos, and the universe is formed, which implies that the country has made ground-breaking and epoch-making achievements.

The second stamp is “The rat ushers in a year of the harvest”. Three little mice appear joyful and contented, symbolizing a happy family. The patterns of peanuts show a scene of harvest and imply a great harvest in 2020. Combining half freehand technique and the rendering techniques of traditional Chinese painting, it highlights the cuteness of the rat and forebodes the prosperity of the great motherland.

With the release of the set of stamps, Chinese zodiac stamps have been released for the 40th year. The first zodiac stamp issued in 1980 was the “Genshen Year” monkey stamp. Since then, Chinese zodiac stamps have been the best gift of the New Year celebration. For 40 years, the issuance of each zodiac stamp has witnessed the changes in the times and development of culture. Carrying the complex of Chinese people in the Chinese zodiac, the zodiac stamps have not only enriched the cultural experience of Chinese nationals but also opened a window to Chinese culture and become a calling card for China to go global.

Which of the zodiac stamps with "Chinese elements" and "international elements" is your favorite?