23rd November 2022: Spinosaurus, Hong Kong

Thank You very much Cyan!

Hong Kong: Year of the Ox Meet-up

On 13th February I got three postcards: two from Hong Kong and one from Taiwan.

The first card from Hong Kong is a Postcrossing Meet-up Card about the Year of the Ox. I guess it depicts a Chinese legend, but I do not know its name. Maybe someone does? Similar meet-ups were held in other cities in Mainland China. On the backside the card lists Jinan, Xian, Yngkou, Yangzhou, Chenzhou, Wenzhou, Gongguan, Taiyuan, Chongqing, Ningbo and Zhongshan. 

The card was signed during the meet-up. One of Hong Kong's four Year of the Ox stamps (issued 28-01-2021) was used and got cancelled with a nice postmark of ox and rat. 

The second card from Hong Kong is a different card about the same meet-up. 

A different Year of the Ox stamp was used and got cancelled with a different special postmark.

Thank You very much Kayee!

Hong Kong: Giant Panda

On 11th February I got a postcard from Hong Kong.

It is one of the six maxicards about Ocean Park issued last year, this is the one about the Giant Panda. You can see the whole set here. Apparently using the stamp on the front side is enough, as there is no other stamp on the backside. This is an official card. 

Thank You very much Matthäus!

Hong Kong: Christmas

On 6th January I got two postcards: one from Hong Kong and one from the USA.

The card from Hong Kong is a Christmas maxicard. Hong Kong rarely issues Christmas stamps and I like this set very much. Four stamps were issued on 4th December that show Santa Claus doing typical Chinese activities. On this stamp he enjoys traditional food. Also nearly the whole stamp is covered in golden foil. 

Another stamp with foil was used as postage. This one is about the Rio Olympics in 2016. 

 Thank You very much Kayee!

Hong Kong: Skyline

On 29th October I got two postcards: one from Hong Kong and one from Austria.

The card from Hong Kong shows an illustrations of the city's skyline. This is an official card.

Beside two definitives one of the six stamps issued this year about the Ocean Park (issued 18-08-2020) was used. I had shown the complete set of maxicards earlier on this blog.

 Thank You very much Jessica!

Hong Kong: Ocean Park

Giant Pandas in Zoos is one of my favourite collections and when Hong Kong issued a set of six stamps about animals from the Ocean Park plus a set of maxicards, I could not resist to buy them. Ordered in August, they finally reached be on the 2nd October.

Hong Kong: Pig and Rat

On 24th January I got six postcards: one from Hong Kong, one from Macau, one from Australia, two from the Philippines and one from Russia.

The card from Hong Kong is about the Chinese New Year and shows a pig and a rat, the animals for last year and this year. The card was turned into a maxicard with one stamp about the Year of the Pig (issued 12-01-2019) and one about the Year of the Rat (issued 11-01-2020). The special postmark also shows pig and rat.

 The stamps on the front side were used as postage and on the back side is just an airmail label.

Thank You very much Madge!

Hong Kong: Old Master Q

Last Thursday I got not only a postcard but also a cover from Hong Kong.

Stamps:

Definitive (from set of sixteen) (issued 07-2014)

Hong Kong Police Force (from set of six) (issued 30-04-2019)

with a special Year of the Rat postmark

Inside was a postcard about Old Master Q. Old Master Q is a comic series from Hong Kong. It was created by Alfonso Wong and was first published in 1962. Old Master Q himself is an elderly man dressed in a distinctive traditional Chinese attire. Other important characters from the series include Big Potato, Mr. Chin and Mr. Chao, the main antagonist. While the comics primarily focuse on humour, they also reflect changing social trends. The series is still continued until today and became popular across Asia.

The card is a maxicard. The stamp is from a set of eight and was issued on 5th December 2019.

Thank You very much Kayee!

cover from Hong Kong

On Monday I got a cover from Hong Kong.

With nice stamps:

Year of the Pig (from set of four) (issued 12-01-2019)

Landscapes of Hong Kong (from set of sixteen) (issued 24-07-2014)

70th Anniversary of the People's Republic of China (from set of four) (issued 01-10-2019)

Inside were two postcards from Hong Kong and one from Macao.

The first card from Hong Kong is about the MacLehose Trail. The MacLehose Trail is a 100km hiking trail in the New Territories. It is named after Sir Murray MacLehose, the longest-serving governor of Hong Kong who was himself an enthusiastic hiker. The trail passes through a variety of natural scenery including beaches and many of Hong Kong's highest peaks.

The card is a maxicard. The stamp is from a set of ten and was issued on 24th October 2019. As special feature the stamp has holes.

The second card from Hong Kong shows a Post Box. The Post Boxes of Hong Kong were imported from the United Kingdom. After Hong Kong's handover to the People's Republic of China the formerly red boxes were painted green and were adorned with the new Hongkong Post logo, but as of October 2015 59 colonial post boxes bearing the royal insignia were still in service.

The card from Macao is a maxicard about the 70th anniversary of the People's Republic of China. The stamp is from a set of four and was issued on 1st October 2019.

Thank You very much Yan!

China Bullet Train Meet-up Series

In June a special series of Postcrossing Meet-ups was held in China, the China Bullet Train Meet-up Series. In eight cities Postcrossers came together at the high speed railway stations to meet each other and to send many postcards. Luckily I was able to get a postcard from every meet-up.

Plans for China's high-speed railway network first arose in the early 1990s, but just in the last 15 years the network developed rapidly with substantial funding from the Chinese government. At first the trains were imported or built with the help of companies from Canada, France, Germany or Japan, but nowadays indigenous trains are built, which are designed for speeds of 250-350 km/h. Today the Chinese network is the longest high speed railway network in the World. Although the high-speed trains now already reach the most of the important cities and provincial-level administrative divisions, the building boom continues. It is set to reach 38,000 km in 2025 from 29,000 km at the end of 2018. Which is no wonder, as the network is also the most extensively used in the World. A broad range of travelers of different income levels choose the high-speed trains due to their comfort, convenience, safety and punctuality, which has greatly reduced travel time and has transformed Chinese society and economy. 

The first card arrived on 12th June and came from Shanghai, where the meet-up was held on 1st June.

Stamps:
Slender West Lake (from set of three) (issued 18-04-2015)
Yangtze River Economic Belt (from set of six) (issued 26-08-2018)

The next card came already one day later. This time it was from Hong Kong, where the meet-up was held on 9th June. It should be noted that on 9th June also the largest protest ever held in Hong Kong took place to oppose the introduction of the Fugitive Offenders amendment bill proposed by the Hong Kong government and that the protests still continue until today.

Stamp:
Characters in Jin Yong's Novels (from set of six) (issued 06-12-2018)

The third card to arrive was from Hangzhou and came on 19th June. The meet-up there was held on 2nd June.

With a matching stamp:
Achievements of China's High Speed Railway Development (from set of four) (issued 25-11-2017)
Special-use Stamp for Greeting Cards (two from set of four) (issued 08-08-2013)

The meet-up in Wuhan was also held on 1st June, but the card arrived here just on 27th June.

After one stamp got lost these two remained:
90 years Chinese People's Liberation Army (from set of six) (issued 01-08-2017)
Special-use Stamp for Greeting Cards (from set of four) (issued 08-08-2013)

The card from Qingdao, where the meet-up was also held on 1st June, really suffered during its journey, but just arrived one day after the one from Wuhan.

Three matching stamps were used, but just one arrived:
Achievements of China's High Speed Railway Development (from set of four) (issued 25-11-2017)

The swap for the card from Beijing I arranged later than the others, so the card just arrived on 6th July. The meet-up in Beijing was also held on 1st June.

Stamps:
Children's Sports and Games (from set of six) (issued 31-05-2017)
Phoenix in Art (from set of six) (issued 29-07-2017)

The meet-up in Dongguan on 30th June was the last to be held, so the card just arrived on the 20th July.

Stamps:
Achievements of China's High Speed Railway Development (from set of four) (issued 25-11-2017)
Fruits (from set of four) (issued 14-07-2018)
Special-use Stamp for Greeting Cards (from set of four) (issued 08-08-2013)

The card from Shenyang was the most difficult to arrange for me and the card just arrived on 24th August, over two months after the first card arrived. The meet-up there was held on 6th June.

Stamp:
22nd Congress of the Universal Postal Union (from set of two) (issued 23-08-1999)

Big Thank You to everyone who helped me to collect these cards! ^___^

Hong Kong: Lam Tsuen Wishing Tree

On Tuesday I got two postcards: one from Hong Kong and one from the USA.

The card from Hong Kong shows one of the Lam Tsuen Wishing Trees. The Lam Tsuen Wishing Trees are a popular shrine located near the Tin Hau Temple, that are frequented by tourists and locals during the Lunar New Year.

Stamp:
Year of the Pig (from set of four) (issued 12-01-2019)
with First Day Special Postmark

Thank You very much Hazel!

Hong Kong: Cantonese Opera

On Saturday I got a postcard from Hong Kong.

It shows shows a Cantonese opera performer. The Cantonese Opera, also known as Yueju Opera, is an opera form from the Cantonese-speaking regions of Guangdong and Guangxi. It combines Mandarin operatic traditions and Cantonese dialect. The Yueju Opera is famous for the elaborate costumes and face paintings and for its rich repertoire of stories. Since 2009 is the Yueju Opera an Intangible Heritage of the UNESCO.

With a nice matching stamp:
Cantonese Opera Classics (from set of six) (issued 09-10-2018)

Thank You very much Joe!

Hong Kong: Giant Panda at the Ocean Park

On Wednesday I got two postcards: one from Hong Kong and one from the Czech Republic.

The card from Hong Kong shows a Giant Panda at the Amazing Asian Animals habitat at the Ocean Park.

Stamp:
Inclusive Communication (from set of six) (issued 07-06-2018)
with a special postmark from Tsim Sha Tsui

Thank You very much Keiko!

Hong Kong: Fun with Numbers

On Tuesday I got four postcards: one from Hong Kong, one from Vietnam, one from Germany and one from Poland.

The card from Hong Kong is a maxicard of the recent stamp issue about mathematic symbols. The set consists of sixteen stamps and was issued on 17th July 2018.

Stamp:
Hong Kong Shopping Streets (from set of six) (issued 19-09-2017)

Thank You very much Kayee!

Hong Kong: Winston Churchill

On Friday I got two postcards: one from Hong Kong and one from France.

The card from Hong Kong shows Winston Churchill.

With a nice stamp:
Inclusive Communication (from set of six) (issued 07-06-2018)
On the stamp "Thank You" is written in Braille.
with First Day Special Postmark

Thank You very much Joe!