Hong Kong has revealed the first half of their 2024 stamp program, and Its time for the bunny to hop along and make way for a new year. The start of 2024 is truly all about the dragon with Wong Chun Hong’s | 黃鎮康 gorgeous artistry. However, as good as the dragons are, if pressed for an early pick for 2024, I’d predict Tang Chenggang’s | 唐承剛 Selected Tea Sets from Hong Kong Collections will be the top contender. Covers, postcards and cancels will be released in March, and I can’t wait to see what else Tang creates.
But what of last year? Hands down the best of 2023 was March’s Hong Kong Museums Collections – Meditation House– Jingguanlou. I’m a sucker for museums and could merrily spend my life wandering through them, so this set of 6 stamps, 2 mini sheets, 3 FDCs, cancel, sheets of 12 and folder ticked all the boxes.
You can see the entire set on the 2023 page. Designer 伍廣圖 Wu Guangtu created a nice balance between traditional and modern art and design. Wonderful set. Feel free to disagree with my choice and let me know which set you’d pick.
Enjoy!
Catpaw
January
Year of the Dragon
4 stamps, 2 souvenir sheets, FDCs, cancel, red packs,
Designer: Wong Chun Hong | 黃鎮康
Release date: January 5, 2024
Zodiac Gold and Silver Stamp Sheetlet – Rabbit Flying Dragon
2 stamps on souvenir sheet, FDCs, cancel
with silver leaf and gold flakes
Designer: Wong Chun Hong | 黃鎮康
Release date: January 5, 2024
Zodiac Gold and Silver Stamp Sheetlet – Complete Collector’s Edition
24 stamps on 2 sheetlets, FDCs, cancel
Designer: Wong Chun Hong | 黃鎮康
Release date: January 5, 2024
Joint issue Hongkong Post and Macao Post
Souvenir Pack (includes 1 co-issue souvenir sheet, 2 sets of 2 RMB 1.2 non-perforated stamps issued by China Post, 1 set of 4 stamps (HK$2.2, HK$4, HK$5.4 and HK$5.5) issued by Hongkong Post, 1 set of 4 stamps issued by Macao Post)
Release date: January 5, 2024
February
Clean Hong Kong – Anti Corruption
6 stamps, 1 stamp on souvenir sheet, FDCs, cancel
Designer: Hiko Ito | 伊藤彥子
Ito began her career as an architect.
Release date: February 15, 2024
March
Jin Yong’s Novel Characters II – The Great Hero
6 stamps, 3 souvenir sheets, Mini pane of 10 stamps, 5 FDCs, cancel, folder (6 stamps, 2 souvenir sheets, mini pane), collector’s set ( 6 denominations, two $10 stamp sheetlets, one $20 stamp sheetlet, a set of six decamped first day covers, a date-stamped collector’s cover affixed with two $10 stamp sheetlets and a cancelled collector’s cover affixed with one $20 stamp sheetlet), 9 postcards (airmail)
lithograph, three-dimensional stamping and hot stamping
Special release that wasn’t on the original program release.
- $2.20 Stamps – Guo Jing
- $2.80 Stamps – Linghu Chong
- $3.70 Stamps – Whatever You Go
- $4 Stamp – Ouyang Feng
- $5.40 Stamps – Qiao Feng
- $5.50 Stamps – Huang Rong
- $10 Stamp Sheetlet – Yang Guo
- $10 Stamp Sheetlet – Little Dragon Girl
- $20 Stamp Sheetlet – Commemoration of the Centenary of Jin Yong’s Birth
Dr Louis Cha had started writing martial arts novels under the pen name Jin Yong since the 1950s. The 15 novels he created have been well received around the globe and adapted into films, television serials and works in other media. The success of his martial arts novels is attributed to the striking twists and turns of the plots, heartwarming and touching stories, and the unique characters created within. On the centenary of the birth of Jin Yong in 2024, Hongkong Post will issue a set of special stamps themed on “Characters in Jin Yong’s Novels II – A Path to Glory” on 14 March to pay tribute to his outstanding. “Jin Yong’s Novel Characters II. – The Great Hero” special stamps (hongkongpost.hk)
The above interview is fascinating and well worth the read.
The Hong Kong Heritage Museum has a page devoted to these sculptures, including the one donated by the Cha family. Hong Kong Heritage Museum – A Path to Glory – Jin Yong’s Centennial Memorial, Sculpted by Ren Zhe
Designer: Huang Jiawen 黃嘉文
Sculptor: Ren Zhe 任哲
Ren Zhe | Boundless Artists Collective
Ren’s large stainless-steel sculptures focus on heroes and “mythical warriors”. He was an inspired choice to create the sculptures shown on the stamps. In a 2017 interview he explained his passion for this type of artistry:
I think everyone has their own hero in mind, and it is not something confined to battlefields. In fact, every industry has its own hero. It takes a lot of perseverance to be one, which I particularly appreciate and admire. That’s why I aspire to visualise the kinds of warriors that exist within every one of us, to reinterpret and portray it through my work. Sculptor Ren Zhe creates heroes in his large-scale stainless steel works | Lifestyle Asia
Release date: March 14, 2024
April
Selected Tea Sets from Hong Kong Collections
6 stamps, 2 stamps on souvenir sheet, sheetlet of 12, 3 FDCs, cancel, souvenir folder, 6 sheets of 25
lithographic plate
Previous stamps featuring items from the Hong Kong Collections in 2009 and 2011
Designer: Tang Chenggang | 唐承剛
Release date: April 18, 2024
May
UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage – Cheung Chau Jiao Festival
4 stamps, 2 stamps on 2 souvenir sheets, 3 FDCs, cancel, fanfold collection
offset
This set is part of a long running tradition of celebrating Hong Kong’s Intangible Cultural Heritage. The Cheung Chau Jiao Festival was recognised by UNESCO in 2017.
The activity has been practised for more than 100 years. Legends say that Cheung Chau was devastated by a plague in the late Qing dynasty. To dispel the disaster, Huizhou and Chiu Chow natives invited Taoist priests and set up a sacrificial altar near the Pak Tai Temple to pray to deities, repent and to comfort departed souls from the land and the sea. The residents also paraded deity statues along village lanes. The plague did cease after the ritual. Since then, residents on Cheung Chau have been organising the annual Jiao Festival to express gratitude to Pak Tai for blessing the area with peace. For more than a century, Cheung Chau residents never stopped organising the annual Jiao Festival to dispel disaster and pray for blessings for peace and safety. With residents’ participation every year, the ritual has been passed down through the generations. Cheung Chau Jiao Festival was inscribed onto the third national list of ICH in 2011.
Intangible Cultural Heritage Office – Home (icho.hk)
Designer: Cheng Chi Ming 鄭志明
Release date: May 9, 2024
June
Declared Monuments in Hong Kong
2nd in series
6 stamps, souvenir sheet, 2 FDCs, cancel, info folder, 6 postcards
offset
- Bonham Road Government Primary School – declared in 2021
- Bethany Seminary – declared in 2023
- Signal Tower at Blackhead Point / Tai Pao Mi Signal Tower – declared in 2015
- Main Damn at Kowloon reservoir – declared in 2009
- Kom Tong Hall – declared in 2010
- Block 10 of the Olde Lei Yue Mun Barracks – declared in 2016
Previous set in this series appeared in 2007
Designer: Eric Chan of EricChanDesign 陳超宏
Eric is a graduate of the renowned Hong Kong Polytechnic and The First Institute of Art & Design. He has served on The Hong Kong Designers Association and The Hong Kong Designers Association. He is also a member of The Japan Typography Association and the US Type Directors Club. He has operated his own design firm since 1991.
Previous designs include Intangible Cultural Heritage- Dragon and Lion Dance 2021 and Revitalisation of Historic Buildings in Hong Kong II 2017
Release date: June 20, 2024
July
Supporting the Hong Kong/China team at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games
4 stamps, souvenir sheet, 2 FDCs, cancel, info folder
offset
The 33rd Olympic games begin July 26 and run to August 11, 2024. The 4 stamps in the series focus sports Hong Kong athletes have excelled in.
- Fencing
- Swimming
- Table Tennis
- Bicycle
Designer: Chan Ching-cui 陳程翠
Release date: July 26, 2024
September
Disney
9 stamps
Designer: 吳洛誼 Wu Luoyi
Release date: September 12, 2024
Children’s Stamps – Chinese Idiom Tales III
6 stamps, souvenir sheet, foldout, 2 FDCs, cancel
offset
Idioms are long-practiced, concise and concise phrases, which are concise, concise and vivid. Most of the idioms and allusions originate from history and life, which not only have rich cultural connotations, but also contain profound life philosophy, which are of great significance to language learning and cultural inheritance
“Children’s Stamps – Tales of Chinese Idioms III” special stamps
All explanations are from the HK news release (See link above). The release expands on these idioms and briefly explores their individual histories. Use a translator.
- $2.20 Stamps – Painting Ogi’s Godson – This idiom means to write on the ground on reeds to teach her son to learn, and later generations will praise the mother for her dedication to educating her children and teaching them well.
- $2.80 Stamp – Sharpening a Pestle into a Needle – This idiom means to grind an iron rod into a fine needle, which is a metaphor for how difficult things can be done with perseverance.
- $3.70 Stamps – Confident – This idiom means that before drawing bamboo, you already have the shape and form of bamboo in your mind, which is a metaphor for careful consideration and planning in advance, and you can be handy when doing things.
- $4 Stamps – Diligence and Frugality – This idiom means to be both industrious and thrifty.
- $5.40 Stamp – Overcoming Thorns – This idiom means to remove and cut down the thorns that grow on the road, and it is a metaphor for overcoming all kinds of difficulties, sweeping away all obstacles, and forging ahead.
- $5.50 Stamps – Plan Ahead – This idiom means tying doors and windows with ropes before heavy rain, which is a metaphor for preparing for everything.
Designer: Abdelkrim ASRAR
Release date: September 26, 2024
October
150th Anniversary of the Universal Postal Union
1 stamp on souvenir sheet, FDC, cancel, foldout
offset
This year is the 150th anniversary of the Universal Postal Union. Post offices around the world have issued stamps, using a common design element.
Designer: 黎琟櫻 Li Jingying
Release date: October 9, 2024
November
Hong Kong’s Natural Landscapes – 10 Natural Attractions
8 stamps, 2 souvenir sheets, 3 FDCs, 2 cancels (each FDC is available with either a b&w cancel or the colour cancel), 10 prepaid postcards
offset
- $2.20 Stamps – Tai Lam Thousand Islands
- $2.20 Stamp – Mao Shan Sea of Clouds
- $2.20 Stamps – Sharp Island Sandy Island
- $2.20 Stamp – Shing Mun Tree Mirror
- $2.20 Stamp – Autumn Leaves
- $2.20 Stamp – Tung Ping Cape
- $2.20 Stamp – Miscanthus Grass
- $10 Stamp Sheetlet – Tai O Ho Chung
Designer: 黃少強 Wong Siu-keung
Release date: November 19, 2024
December
Welcome to the Giant Pandas
1 stamp on souvenir sheet, FDC, cancel, 2 prepaid postcards, foldout
offset
This set was not included in the original 2024 stamp schedule. It was released to celebrate the news that HK will be host to a pair of pandas. The pandas arrived September 26 and made their public debut on Dec. 8, 2024. Ocean Park, where they have been housed, set up to live cams, one for each. It isn’t always on, but you might get lucky and spot them Giant Panda Live | Witness Giant Panda Moments in Real-Time | Ocean Park Hong Kong.
Designer: 黃歡歡 Huang Huanhuan
Release date: December 12, 2024
Hong Kong Palace Museum II
6 stamps, 2 souvenir sheets, sheetlet of 6, 3 FDCs, cancel, foldout, collector’s pack
offset with partial lacquer and embossing
This series explores treasures from the Hong Kong Palace Museum (HKPM) which opened in 2022.
- $2.20 Stamps – Qianlong of Qing Dynasty. The cloisonné enamel is too peaceful
- $2.80 Stamps – Qing. Cloisonné enamel floral pattern hot pot
- $3.70 Stamps – Qing. Gold-inlaid jade pagoda
- $4 Stamps – Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty. Painting enamel flowers, opening light, character pattern holding pot
- $5.40 Stamps – Qianlong of Qing Dynasty. Jin Daji gourd hanging screen
- $5.50 Stamps – Qing. Jasper luan incense burner
- $10 Stamp Sheetlet – Qing. Copper-gilded painted enamel four-sided plate clock
- $20 Stamp Sheetlet – Early Qing Dynasty. “Treasure of the Son of Heaven”
Designer: 湯偉鵬 Tang Weipeng
Release date: December 17, 2024
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