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Lunar Year of the Tiger 2022 (set of 6)
Issued by China Post, with pre-printed postage and remarkable lottery and QR code attachments … our scan shows the cover and two of the unused cards in this set of six. Hard to believe we’ve already cycled through the Chinese calendar, but so it is! Grade: 1
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Ancient Towns (Maximum Cards) (set of 4)
Issued by China National Philatelic Co., Ltd., in 2022, this is unused set MC(E)-23. The artwork is remarkable, and it’s a desirable set of maximum cards. Grade: 1
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Fight against the Epidemic (set of 32)
These are notable. Very much so. The unused set (with pre-printed postage) came from China Post in 2020, and we’re showing you two cards as well as the front cardboard cover as examples. All 32 cards in the set have the same serial number. This will be an historical reference, however oblique, to Covid for many years. Grade: 1
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Shanghai, The Bund
Not postally used, but with message covering the reverse, and sticker/thumbtack hole, this card is only good as a space filler. It manages, however, to make The Bund look a lot less busy than it actually is. Grade: 5
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Guilin, Pagoda Hill
Mailed several years ago with two different stamps and partial postmark, the sticker and abrasions make this card a space-filler only. Grade: 5
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Back Lake in the Summer Palace
Mailed in 1981, with stamp and postmark and a prominent thumbtack hole. Grade: 4
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The Three Pagodas, Reflected
The Three Pagodas of the Chongsheng Temple are arranged on the corners of an equilateral triangle, near the old town of Dali in Yunnan province, dating from the time of the Kingdoms of Nanzhao and Dali in the 9th and 10th centuries. This card seems to have been mailed in 1988, with two different stamps, postmark, and an honestly inconspicuous thumbtack hole at the top. Grade: 4
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Xinjiang (set of 30, and seven singles)
Sorry for the unruly scan but it was all we could manage. This entire lot includes one unopened, original wrapped set of what we believe to be 30 cards based on thumbnail shots on the back cover. As well, seven individual cards we believe came from a second, identical set. The only problem with these wonderful pictures is that the cards themselves have no captions in any language. The only identification is on the unopened set’s cardboard cover — in Chinese only. (Google Translate can handle that for you.) Grade for all eight items — the seven singles and one full set: 1.
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Yunnan – Lujiang Dam of Baoshan
Beginning a series of unused individual cards taken from a set, as indicated by their perforated left edges. The set promotes various areas of Yunnan Province, and has Chinese and English captions on both sides of each card, along with two QR codes urging you to look even further. This is an ambitious tourism project! As for this card, it says there’s a dam in the photo. Grade: 1
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Yunnan – Yuanmou Soil Forest of Chuxiong
Continuing a series of Yunnan cards as described in our #20307950, this one also captioned “Chuxiong, hometown of Yi, a wonderful place!” Double QR codes to tell you who Yi is, we suppose. Grade: 1
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Yunnan – Cangshan Mountains and Erhai Lake of Dali
Continuing a series of Yunnan cards as described in our #20307950, this one also captioned “Romantic Dali, livable place”. Faint praise! Please note: those are not stamps on the card. They are part of the design. Two QR codes to help you. Grade: 1
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Yunnan – Seventeen-Arch Bridge of Honghe
Continuing a series of Yunnan cards as described in our #20307950, this one also suggesting “Terraces in Clouds, Dream like Honghe”. Two QR Codes for you. Grade: 1
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Yunnan – Kunming Gudian Yihai Wharf
Continuing a series of Yunnan cards as described in our #20307950, this one also captioned “Kunming, City of Flowers, City of Eternal Spring”. Two competing QR codes. Grade: 1
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Yunnan – Lugu Lake of Lijiang
From the Yunnan series, this unused card whose feature (the lake) is so distinctive that we will give you a condensed Wikipedia description of it: “Lugu is called the ‘mother lake’ by the Mosuo people. The lake is also well-known in Chinese travel pamphlets as the region of “Amazons,” “The Kingdom of Women” and “Home of the Matriarchal Tribe”, this last name highlighting the dominant role of the Mosuo women in their society. It is also known as “A Quaint Realm of Matriarchy.” The matriarchal and matrilineal society of the Mosuos is also termed the “Women’s World” … and this goes on, but you get the idea. QR Codes are there. Grade: 1
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Yunnan – Fugong Stone Moon of Nujiang
An unused card with perforated left edge from the Yunnan set as described earlier. Two QR Codes are available for more information about this striking province. Grade: 1
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Yunnan – Pu-er Tea Mountain and Vine Bridge
An unused card with perforated left edge from the Yunnan set as described earlier. Two QR Codes are available and two scenes here, an impressive mountain of tea and the Vine Bridge of Ximeng in Wa Autonomous County. Grade: 1
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Yunnan – Xishuangbanna Wanda Theme Park
An unused card with perforated left edge from the Yunnan set as described earlier. Two QR Codes are available and there’s plenty online about this gigantic theme park. Grade: 1
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Yunnan – Fuxian Lake of Yuxi
Fuxian Lake (抚仙湖) stretches through Chengjiang, Jiangchuan and Huaning Counties in Yunnan Province, spanning an area of 212 square kilometers. The lake is ranked third-largest in Yunnan, after Dian and Erhai Lakes. Also the deepest lake in Yunnan, it is 155 meters deep at its greatest depth and also the third-deepest fresh water lake in China, after Tianchi and Kanas Lakes. This unused card with left perforated edge comes from the Yunnan set described earlier, with two QR Codes. Grade: 1
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Yunnan – Water-Splashing Festival of Dai Ethnic Group
Another unused card from the Yunnan series: left perforated edge, but this card only has one QR Code. What look like stamps on the front are not stamps — just part of the design. Grade: 1
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Yunnan – Jingpo and Wa Ethnic Groups
From the Yunnan set with left perforated edges and QR Codes (just one this time), an unused card celebrating two events: Manau Festival of Jingpo Ethnic Group, and the elegantly named “Smear You Black” of Wa Ethnic Group. Wow! Grade: 1
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Yunnan – Kingdom of Animals
The last of our series of Yunnan cards from the set, and they have perforated left edges. This unused example has one QR Code, and those stamp-like photos on the front are not stamps, but part of the design. Grade: 1
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Damo (A)
First, some Wikipedia information about the subject: “Bodhidharma was a semi-legendary Buddhist monk who lived during the 5th or 6th century CE. He is traditionally credited as the transmitter of Chan Buddhism to China, and is regarded as its first Chinese patriarch. According to a 17th-century apocryphal story found in a manual called Yijin Jing, he began the physical training of the monks of Shaolin Monastery that led to the creation of Shaolin kungfu. He is known as Dámó in China … Little contemporary biographical information on Bodhidharma is available, and subsequent accounts became layered with legend and unreliable details. According to principal Chinese sources, Bodhidharma came from the Western Regions, either Central Asia or the Indian subcontinent, and is described as either a ‘Persian Central Asian’ or a ‘South Indian […] the third son of a great Indian king.’ Throughout Buddhist art, Bodhidharma is depicted as an ill-tempered, large-nosed, profusely-bearded, wide-eyed non-Chinese person. He is referred to as ‘The Blue-Eyed Barbarian’ (碧眼胡).” We know that’s a lot to take in but this and the following card are also unusual, unused, and issued officially by China Post. The QR Code will likely tell you even more. Grade: 1
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Damo (B)
See previous card 20307963 for a complete explanation. This one, not the same, is also unused. Grade: 1
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An Ancient Rare Tree
This unusual unused postcard hides all its secrets in plain sight. To start, the card measures 4″ x 7-1/4″. Our header is the card’s caption, on front and reverse. But there’s more, in faint letters, and we will put it all here: “The Latin name of this tree is Morus cathayana Hemsl. It lives on Guanxin Slope, 1200 meters above sea level, and has witnessed a history of over 700 years. Greetings from Mt. Emei, a World Heritage site.” This is an official China Post card and had an uncancelled stamp affixed at point of origin. All we can suggest is that the Chinese Government should not tell anyone exactly where the tree is. Grade: 1
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Ligou Garden
Elements of previous card 20307965 are the same here: unused, stamped, official, Mt. Emei, Greetings, and World Heritage — and measuring 4″ x 7-1/4″. In this case, as the old saying goes, the card’s caption takes the cake: “Ligou Garden, or the Dirt-free Garden, sits among the trees in Fuhu Temple (“Tiger Taming Temple”). Nearly no dead leaf would ever fall on the roofs of the garden because of its unique architectural designs. This is considered a wonder in the world history of architecture.” Either that, or a clean-up squad appears in the middle of the night to exact its own wonders. Grade: 1
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Hengli (set of 12)
Published by China Post, and with pre-printed colour postage, the 12 unused cards in this 2009 set are captioned entirely in Chinese. Our scan shows the front cardboard cover, the front of one card, and the back of another. Grade: 1
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Nan Chang (set of 10)
These 10 unused cards — artwork, not photographs — come in a cardboard cover whose front you see in our scan. (That design is also on one of the postcards.) Captioned in Chinese only, so your Google Translate will get a workout. Grade: 1
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50th Anniversary of China/Spain Diplomatic Relations (Maximum Cards) (set of 2)
Issued by China Post as Maximum Card set MC-134, these two cards are distinctly Chinese notwithstanding the Spanish stamp on one of them. Unused. Grade: 1
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Shenzhen Postal Bureau
A nice enough scene on this 4″ x 7-1/4″ lottery card from China Post in Shenzhen, but there’s no English caption, and what Chinese there is does not identify the location. Unused, with pre-printed postage and individual lottery number, and we have six of these. Grades: 1
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Shenzhen (pack of 30+)
As you might know, Shenzhen transforms itself almost by the minute. This jumbo pack of 30 postcards, 30 “share” cards and what might be 460 small stickers was sourced in late 2023 and is still in its original cellowrap, so we don’t know what appears on the cards. However we do know the reverse of the pack has a long description — Chinese only — telling of many of Shenzhen’s visual and gustatory attractions. If you are looking for one comprehensive item showing Shenzhen up to that date, this would probably be it. The scan of the front of the pack should give you some idea. Grade: 1
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Shen Zhen City (Set of 10)
An unused set of 10 cards — detailed artwork, not photographs — showing various scenes around the city. The set has a cardboard cover, which itself has thumbnail shots of each card. Grade: 1
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The Great Wall at Badaling
When it’s a night view like this, you don’t see the many thousands of people and vendors surrounding the area. We’ve already commented that, for a few renminbi more, it’s much better to go to the Mutianyu entrance further north. This postcard was not postally used but has a message covering the reverse. Grade: 4
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50th Anniversary of China-Spain Diplomatic Relations (Maximum Cards) (set of 2)
Issued as set MC-134 by China Philatelic in 2023, both cards feature flamingos but one is stamped and postmarked as China, while the other, naturally, represents Spain. Grade: 1
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National Archaeological Site Park (Maximum Cards) (set of 4)
Here is China National Philatelic’s 2023 set MC-137 of four maximum cards showing (and identifying in Chinese) various archaeological artifacts. Our scan shows the front of the cardboard cover at the lower right, and three of the four cards. Grade: 1
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Innovation in Science and Technology (IV) (Maximum Cards) (Set of 5)
The cardboard cover for this set of five maximum cards appears in the top right of our scan, along with most of three of those five cards. It’s China National Philatelic set MC-138 from 2023, and the cards show experimental rice, the Mars Rover, a cosmic ray observatory, a satellite, and … artificial starch. Definitely an outer-space theme. Grade: 1
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23rd Olympic Games, Weightlifting in 52kg Class
You might refer back to our entry 20307940 for a similar card (different sport) but otherwise identical description, which we’ll repeat here: Maybe lesser-known among Olympics postcards, but a simple example issued by the Chinese Government “In commemoration of gold medals won by China at the 23rd Olympic Games”. Postmarked August 1984, with pre-printed coloured postage. The reverse is blank. Grade: 1
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Shenzhen City (5 sets of 10 cards each)
We debated the best way to post these, and settled on what you see here. Five sets of cards show aspects of Shenzhen. Each set has its own theme: Shenzhen Parkscapes, Shenzhen Heritages, Shenzhen Kaleidoscope, Shenzhen Architectures, and Shenzhen Azure. Each set comes in a plastic container (see lower right of our scan) encircled by a paper wrap with appropriate title. The rest of the scan shows typical front and reverse of one of the cards in each set. They are still in their original cello-wrap. Sets may date from about 2012 and would — we think — be definitive of the city at the time. We decided not to break up this “set of sets” because it deserves to stay together, but we have not opened all the wrappers to verify everything — they came direct from a China Post unit. So if you are interested, you either accept them as they are or we can open them for you to verify each has its own 10 cards. In the event, total cost is for all five sets; everything is Grade: 1
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Lhasa (Tibet), Holy City, Pilgrimage Road Set
This is an unopened set of cards, in the original cello-wrap, showing what may be 30 scenes of Potala Palace and other notable sights in and around Lhasa. We base our estimate of 30 cards on the 30 thumbnail shots on the reverse of the cardboard cover, which we will scan and e-mail to you if you are interested. All text on the outer cover is in Chinese. Grade: 1
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Qinling Mountains (Maximum Cards) (Set of 9)
Set MC-139 of nine maximum cards from China National Philatelic, issued in 2024 and captioned entirely in Chinese, all in a sort of plastic sleeve. You can see one of the cards here. QR codes and bar codes may help you decipher the details. As mountain postcards go, this is really a very nice set. The Qinling (秦岭) or Qin Mountains, formerly known as the Nanshan (“Southern Mountains”), are a major east–west mountain range in southern Shaanxi Province, and mark the divide between the drainage basins of the Yangtze and Yellow River systems, providing a natural boundary between North and South China. Grade: 1