T11 - Revolutionary Sacred Place - Shaoshan

Shaoshan (韶山) is located in Hunan Province.  Shaoshan was the birthplace of Mao Zedong, founder of the People's Republic of China; and was an important base during the communist revolution.

Legend told that in ancient times, Shun or Emperor Shun (舜帝) was here at this mountain.  When Emperor Shun was here, he played shun or shao music (舜乐 / 韶乐), which was an integrated set of poetry, music and dance.   Hence, the mountain was known as Shaoshan.

Mao Zedong was born here on 1893.12.26.  In 1925, Mao set up the peasants movement and a night school here for the peasants.  He also established the Shaoshan branch of the Chinese Communist Party.  In 1927, Mao held the peasant movement cadres and peasants forum at Shaoshan.

This set of stamps was issued on 1976.12.26, which was the 83th anniversary of birth of Mao Zadong.  The four stamps are:
(4-1) 4 fen, Chairman Mao's old residence  韶山毛主席旧居
(4-2) 8 fen, Site of former peasant night school at Shaoshan 韶山农民夜校旧址
(4-3) 8 fen, Site of former peasant association at Shaoshan 韶山农民协会旧址
(4-4) 10 fen, Shaoshan Railway Station  韶山火车站

(4-1)【Chairman Mao's old residence】Chairman Mao's old residence is surrounded by pine trees and bamboo, and is a typical Southern China farm house.  It was set up in 1964 as an exhibition gallery to display Mao's revolutionary relics and photographs.

(4-2)【Site of former peasant night school at Shaoshan】The stamp depicts the house
Chairman Mao used for the peasant night school in 1925.

(4-3)【Site of former peasant association at Shaoshan】The stamp depicts the house  Chairman Mao established for the Peasant Association in 1927.  It was here that Mao's held the peasant movement cadres and peasants forum.

(4-4)【Shaoshan Railway Station】The railroad from Changsha to Shaoshan began construction in January 1967 and was inaugurated on 1967.12.26 (Mao's birthday).  The railroad eased travel to Shaoshan - the revolutionary sacred place.  The stamp depicts the external view of Shaoshan's railway station. 　

T11 – Revolutionary Sacred Place: Shaoshan  革命纪念地 ---- 韶山 Issue Date: 1976.12.26
Serial Number:	T11
Scott No.:	1299-1302
Michel No.:	1309-1312
Number of stamps in Set:	4
Denomination:	4 fen for stamp 1 8 fen for stamp 2, 3 10 fen for stamp 4
Quantity of Issue:	10,000,000 for stamp 1, 2 5,000,000 for stamp 3 2,000,000 for stamp 4
Perforation:	P11 X 11½
Sheet Composition:	30 (3 X 10) for stamp 1, 2, 3, 4
Size of stamps:	60 X 30 mm for stamp 1, 2, 3, 4
Designer:	Xu Yanbo  许彦博
Printing Process:	Photogravure
Printing House:	Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works