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A set of Special Stamps entitled "Hong Kong, China - Portugal Joint Issue on Fishing Villages" will be issued on Tuesday (October 18 ). This is the sixth time Hongkong Post has teamed up with another postal administration for a joint issue.
Postmaster General Mr Allan Chiang said that Hong Kong, like Portugal, was once home to many coastal villages and fishing was a major source of income. The $1.40 and $3 stamps depict Tai O's characteristic wooden stilt-houses, a fishing boat and the local speciality of dried salted fish. The $2.40 and $5 stamps feature the palafitte landing stage of Aldeia da Carrasqueira in Portugal. It is flanked by colourful fishing boats and in the foreground is a fisherman at work.
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"This stamp design is a beautiful example of how stamps can depict the similarities of places far removed from one another," Mr Chiang said. "In the past, both Tai O and Aldeia da Carrasqueira developed as fishing villages with distinct personalities and characteristics. Nowadays, the local population of Aldeia da Carrasqueira is a mixture of farmers and fisher-folk while Tai O is also a major tourist attraction in Hong Kong. The history of these two places is fascinating and these stamps will engender an interest and an understanding of both the similarities and the diversity of life around the world."
The stamps are designed by Ms Sofia Martins and printed in lithography by Southern Colour Print, New Zealand. On the First Day Cover, the entire background of the design is in subdued colours with a man-made structure erected on wooden stakes in the water, fronted by fishing boats floating on the gentle tide and reminiscent of both the village of Tai O and the landing stage of Aldeia da Carrasqueira.
The stamps will be displayed at the General Post Office and the Tsim Sha Tsui, Tsuen Wan and Sha Tin Central post offices from tomorrow (September 27). Official First Day Covers at $1 each will be put on sale at all post offices on the same day. Advance orders for servicing self-provided souvenir covers will be accepted at 39 philatelic offices from September 27 until October 3.
A hand-back datestamping service will be provided at all post offices on October 18 for official and privately-made covers, bearing the first day of issue indication and a local address. A special postmark will also be introduced. The GPO-1 postmark, the "Philatelic Bureau" pictorial postmark and the philatelic office pictorial postmark will also be available for hand-back datestamping service at all philatelic offices on that day.
Also on October 18, the public hall of the Hongkong Post Philatelic Bureau will be open from 9am to 5pm for datestamping covers with the "Philatelic Bureau" pictorial postmark, the GPO-1 postmark and the special postmark.
Further information about this issue and the sale of associated philatelic products can be obtained from Hongkong Post's website at www.hongkongpost.com, at any post office, or by calling the Hongkong Post Philatelic Bureau hotline 2785 5711.
Ends/Monday, September 26, 2005
Issued at HKT 12:45
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