China Post has released the Bingwu Year special stamps, featuring two designs inspired by the Year of the Horse.
On Jan. 5th, China Post released the Bingwu Year special stamps, a new zodiac-themed philatelic issue designed by Wang Hongwei and Zhao Enzhong. The set includes two stamps: the first is titled “Galloping Toward a Grand Vision (驰跃宏图)”, and the second is “Myriad Steeds Bring Blessings (万骏臻福)”. The full set has a face value of 2.40 yuan, with 26.68 million sets planned for issue, including 1.62 million format two sheets and 2.8 million booklets.
In Chinese culture, the horse often symbolises vitality, perseverance, and success, making it a popular image in art and folk traditions. The term “Bingwu” comes from China’s traditional Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches calendar. This system follows a 60-year cycle and has been used for centuries to name years. In this context, Bingwu refers to a Year of the Horse, combining the fire element (Bing) with the zodiac animal horse (Wu).
The Bingwu Year special stamps mark a new approach to Chinese zodiac stamp design. From the start, the project encouraged broad public participation. It attracted renowned artists, industry professionals, and skilled folk artists. During the review process, public voting and expert evaluation ran in parallel. As a result, the final designs stood out from 440 submitted entries.
On the same day, China Post worked with the postal authorities of Hong Kong and Macao. Together, they released matching Bingwu Year zodiac stamp sheets, allowing collectors in all three regions to access the themed issue simultaneously.
Written by Ronnie Yu, additional reporting by CNS, CCTV.
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