News
17 August 2001
"Special Stamp Issue "Hong Kong Tea Culture"
The Postmaster General, Mr. P. C. LUK, announced today (17 August 2001) that a set of special stamps on Hong Kong Tea Culture will be issued on Sunday, 9 September 2001. "It is well known that tea culture has a very long history and tea drinking is a popular habit in Hong Kong. This set of stamps is the first ever set of scented stamps issued in Hong Kong with the fragrance of tea applied to the stamps. A gentle rub on the surface of the stamp will release the aroma of Jasmine tea," Mr. LUK added. The stamps are designed by Mr. Tony HO and printed in lithography by The House of Questa Ltd.
This set of special stamps consists of four stamps depicting the diversity of tea culture in Hong Kong:
$1.30 Gongfu tea is a popular style of tea preparation in the Fujian province and the Chaozhou area in southern China. The name Gongfu tea is a reflection of the immense skills and effort in its preparation.
$2.50 The locally-brewed milk tea is served at old-style tea bistros and takes a unique blending of black tea leaves and superb tea-making skills to make a perfect cup of smooth Hong Kong-style tea.
$3.10 As part of Hong Kong's culinary culture, "yum cha" (drinking tea) and dim sum are inseparable.
$5.00 In a tea house, people enjoyed watching the traditional Chinese performance art such as string instruments.
Other associated philatelic products to be issued with the new stamps are a set of four postage prepaid picture cards priced at $20 per set and a presentation pack containing a set of four stamps at $20 per pack. These products will be available for sale at all post offices on 9 September 2001. Serviced first day covers at $15.40 each affixed with a full set of stamps cancelled with the special postmark will be available at the 38 philatelic offices on that day.
The stamps, presentation pack and the picture cards will be displayed for advance information of the public at the General Post Office as from 20 August 2001, and at Tsim Sha Tsui Post Office , Tsuen Wan Post Office and Shatin Central Post Office as from 27 August 2001. Official first day covers will be put on sale at all post offices at $ 1 each on 20 August 2001. Advance orders for servicing self-provided first day covers will be accepted at all post offices from 20 August 2001 to 27 August 2001.
A restriction of ten sheets of stamps of each denomination (viz. 250 sets of stamps), five serviced first day covers, five presentation packs and five sets of picture cards per customer queuing will be imposed on the first day of issue on 9 September 2001 and on subsequent days until stock lasts.
Hand-back service will be provided at all post offices on 9 September 2001 to official and privately-made covers bearing the first day of issue indication and a local address. A special postmark will be introduced. The GPO-1 hand stamp and pictorial postmark will also be available for hand-back service at all philatelic offices on that day.
All post offices will open from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on 9 September 2001 to provide a full range of counter services. At the same time, the public hall of Hongkong Post Stamps Philatelic Bureau will also open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on that day for datestamping covers with the "Philatelic Bureau" pictorial postmark , the GPO-1 postmark as well as the special postmark.
The enclosed photograph shows a set of four special stamps to be issued on 9 September 2001 on the theme of "Hong Kong Tea Culture".
The specimen impression of the special postmark to be introduced on 9 September 2001 on the theme of "Hong Kong Tea Culture".