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First Day Cover Text for Hong Kong, China - Portugal Joint Issue on Fishing Villages
Featuring Fishing Villages, this set of stamps is jointly issued with Portugal Post. This is the sixth joint issue of stamps by Hongkong Post with another postal administration.
Hong Kong, like Portugal, used to naturally foster coastal villages where fishing became a major source of livelihood. Today, Hong Kong is recognised as a bold and dynamic city, hardly reflecting its modest beginnings as a humble fishing village. But venture into Tai O, located on the far north-westerly edge of Lantau Island, and you'll find a small harbour where fishing is still a local trade today. In Tai O, the fishing village was built on stilts which gives it a unique appearance and a distinctive character. It is well worth the visit for tourists who want to explore Hong Kong's past.
In a similar fashion, the fisher-folk of Aldeia da Carrasqueira in Portugal drove wooden pillars into the mud-flats and built a web of landing stages to moor their fishing boats. Over time, there emerged an extremely beautiful palafitte wharf zigzagging out into the waterway of the Sado Estuary. The tiny fishing village is not to be missed for day-trippers from Lisbon.
These two fishing villages are similar enough to be appealing and in this issue, Tai O's characteristic wooden stilt-houses, a fishing boat and the local specialty of dried salted fish are depicted in the $1.40 and $3 stamps. Portrayed in the $2.40 and $5 stamps is the palafitte landing stage of Aldeia da Carrasqueira. It is flanked by colourful fishing boats and on the left is a fisherman at work.
In the First Day Cover, an elevated structure sketched in subdued colours is standing on wooden stakes over the water with fishing boats in the foreground. The composition reminds us of the two fishing villages.