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People's Republic of China 1997
The postal administrations of the People's Republic of China and the Kingdom of Sweden signed an agreement to jointly issue a set of two stamps entitled "Rare Birds" with pheasants as their theme, on May 9, 1997. The total face value is 590 fen. The stamps are respectively entitled "Chinese Copper Pheasant" and "Common Pheasant".
Both birds belong to the pheasant family of the Galliformes, sub-family Phasianidae. They are elegant with beautiful plumage. They feed on grain, berries, seeds and insects. They prefer walking to flying.
Scott # 2763
Scott # 2764 |
Here is a
close-up of the postmark from the FDC. See also the FDC
below. There are four Chinese characters on the postmark.
The two on the top read as "zhen ching" meaning rare
bird(s), the bottom two following the date (1997.5.9) read as
"zhong kouk" meaning China. Therefore, the
postmark doesn't specify the place where it was issued.
(Information by Ian Rocoto on the Philatelic Newsgroup
rec.collecting.stamps.discuss, June 11, 2003). |
Chinese Copper Pheasant (or Lady Amherst's
Pheasant).
Chinese Copper
Pheasants grow to a length of about 1.2 meters. Their bellies
are white. Living in China's Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan and
Tibet, Copper Pheasants are protected under China's Grade II
Protection Designation. They are also world famous ornamental
birds.
Swedish Pheasant.
Common Pheasants have a
white ring around their necks. Originally occurring in Asia,
they have been introduced to Europe and North America. Their
numbers are increasing and they are of high economic value.
Common Pheasants are one of the favourite birds of the Swedish
people.
The above description is taken from the reverse side of the official FDC.
China 1997. First Day Cover of the above set. The FDC is designed by Zeng Xiaolian, who also designed the postmark. The cachet shows a water colour of the Chinese Copper Pheasant. Chinese pictorial postmarks no longer mention the city of cancellation, but merely says "China". The top of the postmark says "Rare Birds" - a reference to the name of the issue. (FDCs issued by provincial stamp companies still have names of cities in their postmarks).
Many thanks to Mr. Richard Lam (Singapore) for the information about the postmark and cancellation.
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