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The Postmaster General, Mr Luk Ping-chuen, announced today (January 8) that the HONG KONG 2001 Stamp Exhibition will be held from February 1 to 5, 2001 in Hall 1 of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.
The Exhibition is the first Asian International Stamp Exhibition to be held in Hong Kong since the Handover. It is organized by Hongkong Post and co-organized by the Hong Kong Philatelic Society and other local philatelic associations. It has the patronage of the Federation of Inter-Asian Philately (FIAP) as the 15th Asian International Stamp Exhibition.
"HONG KONG 2001 aims to sustain the philatelic interest generated by HONG KONG '97 and promote stamp collecting as a healthy and educational hobby. The theme of HONG KONG 2001 is "Nature". To promote this theme and to draw the attention of the general public to environmental protection, the Chinese White Dolphin is selected as the Mascot and is given the name of 'Posphin'. A series of souvenirs bearing the Mascot image will be available for sale at the Exhibition venue," Mr Luk said.
"There will be about 150 trading booths operated by postal administrations, philatelic agents, security printers, stamp dealers, philatelic publishers and stationery suppliers. Some security printers will show the various features of stamp printing. Moreover, there will be about 1,000 frames of exhibits competing for the various grand prix awards. As for the Court of Honour, I am very pleased that the China National Postage Stamp Museum has kindly agreed to provide us with some of its valuable collections for display. Besides, there will also be exhibits from the Hong Kong Museum of History, the China National Philatelic Corporation and some renowned philatelists," Mr Luk added.
Admission to the Exhibition is free and the opening hours will be as follows:
Last
Opening Admission Closing
Date Time Time Time
February 1, 2001 10.30 am 6.30 pm 7.30 pm
February 2 to 4, 2001 9.30 am 6.30 pm 7.30 pm
February 5, 2001 9.30 am 4 pm 5 pm
Personal Greetings Stamps Minipanes with Photo-taking
Hongkong Post will be launching its first Personal Greetings Stamps whereby individual stamp-collector can personalize the stamps by adding a photographic portrait onto the tab of the stamp. Mail items bearing these unique and creative stamps will certainly carry a personal touch. There will be six denominations, viz $1.30, $1.60, $2.50, $2.60, $3.10 and $5.
The six stamps are represented by different greeting messages and symbolic icons of "Nature" to match the main theme of the Exhibition. In addition to single denomination stamp sheets, a mini-pane in A4 size with 3 sets of stamps for incorporation of the personalized images will be issued at the following prices:-
HK$80 per pane for the first two panes
HK$70 per pane for the 3rd to 5th panes
HK$60 per pane from the 6th pane and onwards
Photo-taking for the portrait for purchasers of mini-panes will be available at the Exhibition venue throughout the exhibition period. In addition, mail order service for the minipanes will be introduced. Mail order forms will be available at the Exhibition venue from February 1 to 5, 2001 and at all post offices from February 1 to 28, 2001. Self-provided photos should be submitted together with the mail orders and the closing date for accepting mail orders is February 28, 2001.
Philatelic Products
To commemorate this event, the following products will be issued and put on sale only at the exhibition venue:
w.e.f. Selling Sales Restriction February 1, 2001 Price per Customer Queuing A Philatelic Passport $300 2 passports A Special Presentation Pack of HONG KONG 2001 Stamp Exhibition Stamp Sheetlets $60 2 packs A Serviced Souvenir Cover for the Appointment of Philatelic Ambassador $5 4 covers Exhibition Catalogue $40 NilThe following products will be issued and available for sale at the Exhibition venue and at all post offices as from the specified dates, except that the serviced first day/souvenir covers will be available only at the 38 philatelic offices:-
w.e.f. Selling Sales Restriction February 1, 2001 Price per Customer Queuing A Gold and Silver Stamp Sheetlet with certificate and folder $100 5 sheetlets A Gold and Silver Stamp Sheetlet presentation pack with certificate $120 2 packs Serviced souvenir cover for Gold and Silver Stamp Sheetlet (will be sold at 38 philatelic offices only) $103.50 5 covers A set of Personal 10 sheets of Greetings Stamps with $16.1 per set 25 stamps six denominations of six stamps per denomination Presentation pack with a set of Personal Greetings Stamps $25 5 packs Serviced first day cover with a full set of Personal Greetings Stamps and cancelled with the special postmark (will be sold at 38 philatelic offices only) $20.60 5 covers w.e.f. February 2, 2001 HONG KONG 2001 Stamp Exhibition Stamp Sheetlet Series No. 5 $5 20 sheets Presentation Pack for HONG KONG 2001 Stamp Exhibition Stamp Sheetlet Series No. 5 $13 5 packs Serviced souvenir cover affixed with the HONG KONG 2001 Stamp Exhibition Stamp Sheetlet Series No. 5 and cancelled with the special postmark (will be sold at 38 philatelic offices only) $8.50 5 covers w.e.f. February 3, 2001 HONG KONG 2001 Stamp Exhibition Stamp Sheetlet Series No. 6 $5 20 sheets Presentation Pack for HONG KONG 2001 Stamp Exhibition Stamp Sheetlet Series No. 6 $13 5 packs Serviced souvenir cover affixed with the HONG KONG 2001 Stamp Exhibition Stamp Sheetlet Series No. 6 and cancelled with the special postmark (will be sold at 38 philatelic offices only) $8.50 5 covers w.e.f. February 4, 2001 HONG KONG 2001 Stamp Exhibition Stamp Sheetlet Series No. 7 $5 20 sheets Presentation Pack for HONG KONG 2001 Stamp Exhibition Stamp Sheetlet Series No. 7 $13 5 packs Serviced souvenir cover affixed with the HONG KONG 2001 Stamp Exhibition Stamp Sheetlet Series No. 7 and cancelled with the special postmark (will be sold at 38 philatelic offices only) $8.50 5 covers w.e.f. February 5, 2001 HONG KONG 2001 Stamp Exhibition Stamp Sheetlet Series No. 8 $5 20 sheets Presentation Pack for HONG KONG 2001 Stamp Exhibition Stamp Sheetlet Series No. 8 $13 5 packs Serviced souvenir cover affixed with the HONG KONG 2001 Stamp Exhibition Stamp Sheetlet Series No. 8 and cancelled with the special postmark (will be sold at 38 philatelic offices only) $8.50 5 covers
Display of Products
As from January 11, 2001, the stamps and stamp sheetlets will be displayed for advance information of the public at the General Post Office, Tsim Sha Tsui Post Office, Tsuen Wan Post Office and Sha Tin Central Post Office.
Official first day covers of the Personal Greetings Stamps at $2 each, and the souvenir covers at $1 each for the Gold/ Silver Stamp Sheetlet and the HONG KONG 2001 Stamp Exhibition Stamp Sheetlets Series No. 5 to 8 will be placed on sale at all post offices on the same day. Advance orders for servicing self-provided souvenir covers will be accepted at all post offices from January 11 to 18, 2001.
Souvenir Products
In addition to the philatelic products, some special souvenir products will also be introduced during the Exhibition period for sale at the Exhibition venue. There is no restriction on the quantity to be purchased. For every purchase up to $500, a free 3.5" Mascot Key Ring will be given as souvenir, while stocks last.
w.e.f. February 1, 2001 Selling Price 30" Mascot Stuffed Toy $300 Crystal Mascot $260 Mascot Plastic Watch $80 Silver Grey Silk Tie (bearing HK2001 Logo) $80 14" Mascot Stuffed Toy $60 Ball Pen Set of 2 (Green and Pink Colour) $25 Mascot Lapel Pins (Set of 2) $20 HK2001 Lapel Pin $10
Handback Service
During February 1 to 5, 2001, in addition to the normal full range of counter services, hand-back service will be provided at all post offices to official and privately-made covers bearing an indication of the event. Apart from the special postmark for the Personal Greetings Stamps, a cachet and the following special postmarks will be introduced on each day of the exhibition, namely:-
1 February 2001 - HONG KONG 2001 Day
2 February 2001 - Nature Day
3 February 2001 - Youth Day
4 February 2001 - FIAP Day
5 February 2001 - Stamp Collectors' Day
The cachet and the special postmarks will be available at all post offices and the Exhibition venue. The GPO-No. 1 datestamp and "Hongkong Post Stamps" pictorial postmark will be available for hand-back service at all philatelic offices as well as the Exhibition venue.
Opening Hours of Post Offices
The weekday opening hours of all post offices during the Exhibition period will be the same as normal weekdays. The opening hours for February 4, 2001, Sunday will be from 9 am to 2 pm. The public hall of the Hongkong Post Stamps Philatelic Bureau will also open for datestamping covers with the "Lantau Link" pictorial postmark during February 1 to 5, 2001 with the following opening hours:-
February 1, 2 and 5, 2001 - 9 am to 5 pm
February 3, 2001 (Saturday) - 9 am to 1 pm
February 4, 2001 (Sunday) - 9 am to 2 pm
End/Monday, January 8, 2000
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