Taiwan’s 2021 stamps cover art, architecture, nature, and fabulous cityscapes. Plenty of great stamps to admire. One thing I noticed at Chunghwa Post is the depth of information it offers collectors. Not only do they supply great images and details about modern stamps, but they also have an online museum! Stamp Treasures covers the entire history of Taiwan’s postal service. You can find information going back to the first issues from 1878 and right through to 2021. 

What blew me away with the website is the level of thought that must have gone into organising the material. I’ve become used to wading through sites that are at times chaotic and outdated. To find a site that gave serious thought to what stamp collectors want was pure heaven. Taiwan’s post office is searchable by year, type of issue (stamp, FDC, folders etc.) or by theme. Chunghwa uses a delightful series of icons to help collectors quickly find what they are looking for:

It doesn’t matter what language you speak; Taiwan makes it simple.

If you are a collector, take a look at the album pages sold through Taiwan’s post office. They sell loose album pages for each issue. Canada Post, please take note. 

Thematic alert: Art on stamps 

If you collect art on stamps there are two series to look for this year. The Modern Taiwanese Paintings returns after skipping 2020 and picks up with 4 more stamps. There is a full series of First Day Covers, album pages, presentation packs etc. available to collect.

The real jewel for art collectors is the second set “Syzygy of the Sun, Moon, and the Five Planets”. It’s part of a series that is issuing images from a long scroll by artist Xu Yang of the Qing dynasty. 2020 saw 6 stamps from the scroll published and this year 6 more. Here’s 2020’s stamps:

“Syzygy of the Sun, Moon, and the Five Planets” by Xu Yang, Qing Dynasty Series 1 issues

The scroll is in the National Palace Museum. If you have time, check out the page devoted to the scroll. I’m hunting up a bit more information on the scroll, so check back later to see if I’ve managed to post more here. 

Cancels

I’m a bit disappointed that I couldn’t find details on upcoming postmarks. I’ll keep looking, but that I’m not hopeful. It’ll take a deep dive into the website and a few other sources to find details.

Lunar New Year stamps  

If you are looking for Year of the Ox stamps, there is only one for 2021 – it’s a vending machine label. The rest of the issues came out Dec. 2020 and you can find them here 2021 Year of the Ox stamps worldwide | Bitter Grounds Magazine

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As always, I’ll be updating this page throughout the year. You can follow me on Facebook & Twitter for update details. You can also leave me messages and question on either platform or in the comments below. I enjoy chatting with readers.

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NOTE: corrections to designer names will be made over the next few weeks. I’m grateful to a reader who pointed out that the majority of Taiwanese do not use Hanyu pinyin or personal names, which is what translator defaulted. 

January

South Penghu Marine National Park

4 stamps, sheets, FDCs, presentation folder, Maxi cards, album pages

Designer: Jheng Yi-lang

Release date: Jan. 20, 2021

February

Taiwan Scenery — Kaohsiung City

Taiwan Scenery series started in 2016

• National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying) 
• Dome of Light in Kaohsiung MRT
• Heart of Love River
• Port of Kaohsiung

4 stamps, 4 sheets, FDCs, folders, Loose-leaf album page, Pre-cancelled FDC affixed with one stamp, Pre-cancelled FDC affixed with full set of stamps

Note: Personal greeting stamps without marginal inscriptions have been also released along with the stamps, which feature a full set of “Taiwan Scenery Postage Stamps — Kaohsiung City.”

Designer: Delta Design Corporation

Release date:  Feb. 4, 2021

March

Centennial Anniversary of James L. Maxwell’s Death

Dr. James L. Maxwell was born in Scotland in 1836 and graduated from Edinburgh University Medical School. On June 16, 1865 he began his work as a medical missionary at Khòan-sai Street, Tainan. The Khòan-sai Street Clinic was the first Western-style clinic in Taiwan. Dr. Maxwell combined medical work with his preaching. He trained staff and assisted innumerable patients, earning him the title Father of Taiwan’s Medical Missionaries.
中華郵政全球資訊網-郵票寶藏 – Pages (post.gov.tw)

1 stamp, sheet, folder, FDC, FDC with one stamp, album page

Artist: Shen Cheen
Designer: Highlight Creative Co., Ltd.

Release date: Mar. 5, 2021

Auspicious Ox Postage Vending Machine Label

1 vending machine label, FDC, folio
Folio with two styles (from which, 6,000 copies with denominations printed in red while 2,000 copies black) is released along with the postage label

Designer: Tseng Kai-chih

Release date: Mar. 10, 2021 / FDC released: March 8, 2021

Rest of the Lunar New Year issues were released in 2020. You can see them here:

  2021 Year of the Ox stamps worldwide | Bitter Grounds Magazine 

April

Aquatic Life – Goldfish
Series 3

• Pearl scale  
• Celestial Eye
• Water Bubble Eye
• Oranda 

4 stamps, First Day Cover, Folder (with or without mount), Loose-leaf album page, Pre-cancelled FDC affixed with one stamp, Pre-cancelled FDC affixed with a full set of stamps

Designer: Jheng Yi-lang
Jheng Yi-lang also designed Jan’s South Penghu Marine National Park issues

Release date: April 9, 2021

Modern Taiwanese Paintings
Series 2 

• Mt. Datun – artist Ni Chiang-huai’s 
• A Scene from Fengyuan – artist Yeh Huo-cheng
• Early Summer in South Taiwan- artist Huang Shui-wen 
• Ship of Southern Country – artist Huang Ching-shan

4 stamps, First Day Cover, Folder (with or without mount), Loose-leaf album page, Pre-cancelled FDC affixed with one stamp, Pre-cancelled FDC affixed with a full set of stamps

Designer: Delta Design Corporation

Release date: April 21, 2021

May 

Bike Paths of Taiwan

• Nantou’s Sun Moon Lake Bikeway
• Hualien’s Yufu Bikeway
• Taitung’s Guanshan Town Circle Bicycle Path
• Taichung’s Tanya Shen Green Bikeway

4 stamps, First Day Cover, Folder (with or without mount), Loose-leaf album page, Pre-cancelled FDC affixed with one stamp, Pre-cancelled FDC affixed with a full set of stamps

Designer: Highlight Creative Co., Ltd.

Release date: May 5, 2021

6 stamps, First Day Cover large size, Folder (with or without mount), Loose-leaf album page, Maxi cards, Pre-cancelled FDC affixed with a full set of stamps, Pre-cancelled maxi cards, Stamp collection (Paperback), Stamp collection (Hardback) 

Designer: Tseng Kai-chih 

Release date: May 19, 2021

• Nanxuan 鯓 Dynasty Tianfu (face value 6 yuan): located in the North Gate District of Tainan City,
• Hsinchu State Hall (face value 8 yuan): located in the north district of Hsinchu City
• The University of Science (face value 10 yuan): located in the freshwater district of Xinbei City
• Ma Gongjin 礮 (face value 12 yuan): in Magong City, Penghu County

4 stamps, First Day Cover large size, Folder (with or without mount), Loose-leaf album page, Maxi cards, Pre-cancelled FDC affixed with a full set of stamps, FDC Pre-cancelled maxi cards,

Designer: Natural Light Design Co., Ltd 

Release date: June 17, 2021

      

• Taiwan quinoa 8 yuan 
• Yushan mountain radish 8 yuan 
• Waseda fennel 15 yuan
• Yushan Buddha grass 20 yuan

July

Anniversary of the death of former President Deng Hui

4 tamps, sheets of 20

Designer: Natural Light Design Co., Ltd

Release date: July 30, 2021

August 

6 stamps on souvenir sheet, full first day sheet, special full colour illustrated booklet, ticket card

Release date: August 9, 2021

Taiwan’s Core Industries

6 stamps

• health care
• environmental protection
• science and technology
• construction

Designer: Daguan Visual Consultants Co., ltd

Release date: August 27, 2021

 

Ancient Paintings of the Palace Museum in Early Spring  

1 stamp on a souvenir sheet
lithography, brush

Designer: Zeng Kaizhi |曾凱智 
Release date: September 29, 2021

Horizontal Domestic Registered Envelopes

2 pre-stamped registered envelope

Release date: September 29, 2021

October 

110th anniversary of the founding of the republic of china

4 stamps, FDC, cancel, ticket protective card (套票護票卡 didn’t translate well)
lithography, brush

Release date: October 8, 2021

November

Classic Poetry

4 stamps, 4 sheets of 20

Original text: 

一、〈江上漁者〉范仲淹（面值8元）：江上往來人，但愛鱸魚美。君看一葉舟，出沒風波裡。
二、〈蘆山樵唱〉羅仲舒（面值8元）：秋山草木落，樵夫日相尋。幽歌出容谷，金石有餘音。
三、〈憫農〉李紳（面值12元）：鋤禾日當午，汗滴禾下土。誰知盤中飧，粒粒皆辛苦。
四、〈勸學〉顏真卿（面值15元）：三更燈火五更雞，正是男兒讀書時。黑髮不知勤學早，白首方悔讀書遲。

Mediocre translation:

1. “Jiangshang Fisherman” Fan Zhongyan (face value 8 yuan): People who come and go on the river, but love the beauty of perch. Jun looked at Yiye Zhou, haunting the storm.
2. “Lushan Qiao Sing” Luo Zhongshu (face value 8 yuan): The woodsman is looking for each other with the fall of autumn mountains. Youge comes out of Ronggu, and there is a lingering sound in the stone.
3. “Sympathetic to the Nong” Li Shen (face value of 12 yuan): On the noon of the day of hoeing, sweat drips down the soil. Who knows that everything is hard in the game.
4. “Encourage Learning” Yan Zhenqing (face value of 15 yuan): The three watch lights and the five watch chickens are exactly when the boy is studying. The black hair does not know how to study early, and the white head regrets being late in studying.

Designer: Daguan Vision Consultants Co., Ltd
Artist: Shen Zhen | 沈禎

Release date: November 3, 2021

Hakka Festival (客家节)

4 stamps, 4 sheets of 20

Hakka Festivals 

Designer: Natural Light Design Co., Ltd

Release date: November 22, 2021

Lunar New Year – Year of the Tiger

2 stamps, stamp on souvenir sheet, 2 FDCs, cancel, 2 sheets of 20

NOTE: This new translation was tweaked by a reader. I appreciate the work he put into getting this correct. He also supplied a correction to the designer’s name. 

一、面值6元郵票：以「虎躍山雄勢，福氣富滿堂」意念，祝福虎年大吉大利，大顯身手。
二、面值13元郵票：以「虎虎生風」意念，祈願新的一年風生水起，萬事圓滿順利，虎（福）氣一整年。
三、面值15元小全張：以老虎之威武虎嘯來呈現「虎虎生威，福氣沖天」，藉以祝福新的一年虎氣沖天，身體健康如虎。

Mediocre translation:

1. 6 NTD (face value) stamp: Concept: “As the tiger leaps mightily in the mountains, blessings and good fortune fill the home.” This stamp represents good fortune in the Year of the Tiger and the opportunity to make a full display of one’s talents.
2. 13 NTD (face value) stamp: Concept: “Two tigers set the tone.” This stamp represents wishes for a flourishing new year, full of success and smooth waters, with the luck and vigor of the tiger lasting the whole year. 
3. 15 NTD (face value) souvenir sheet: using the tiger’s powerful roar, this sheet expresses the idea that “The tiger’s roar sends good fortune to the heavens” to wish everyone the same heavenly good fortune as well as the sturdy health of a tiger.   

Designer: Lin Chun-liang  | 林俊良

Release date: November 29, 2021