Commemorative and Special Stamps after the Handover

Following Hong Kong’s return to China, more innovative ideas were applied to Hong Kong stamps in terms of both design and sales. Alongside its definitive stamps, the Hongkong Post selects a number of special themes, festivals and commemorative events every year for the issue of around 10 sets of stamps. For instance, the stamps commemorating the establishment of the HKSAR that were issued on 1 July 1997 featured several firsts: they were created by a designer in the Mainland China, printed in the Beijing Stamps Printing Factory and used the regional emblem of the HKSAR and the identifier HONG KONG, CHINA. The Hongkong Post always works together with overseas postal institutions, and the first joint issue, on the theme of tourism, was released with Singapore in 1999.

Special children’s stamps including blank areas on four cartoon figures that children can colour in without affecting the stamp’s validity were launched in 2001; the first set was self-adhesive. To celebrate the 150th anniversary of stamp issuance in Hong Kong, the Hongkong Post issued a set of commemorative stamps on 8 December 2012 that adopts an innovative design in which Hong Kong’s first stamp is featured within its most recent and that highlights the timeless charisma of stamps.