T20 -- Develop the Mines

Mining of minerals for other uses, such as for fuel, industrial raw materials, construction materials, etc, is known as Mining Industries.

After the founding of People's Republic of China, through geological exploration and public reporting, it was discovered that China has very rich resources of minerals.

On December 31, 1949, during Chairman Mao Zedong's visit to Russia, he met the Chinese student representative Ren Xiang (任湘), and inscribed on his notebook "Develop the Mines" (开发矿业), expressing China's hope of developing the mining industries.  Ren Xiang (1926-), geothermal expert, is also known as the "father of Chinese geothermal".

On December 9,1978, the Ministry of the Posts and Telecommunications of People's Republic of China released a set of four stamps about China's mining industries.  The set was named "Develop the Mines", using Chairman Mao's inscription in 1949. 

(4-1) 4 fen, Reporting  群众报矿
(4-2) 8 fen, An advance group  掘进尖兵
(4-3) 10 fen, Open-cut mining  露天采矿
(4-4) 20 fen, Transportation in the pit  井下运输

(4-1)【Reporting】The stamp design showed vast mountains in the background, and a member of the Tibetan ethnic group reporting mine finding to a member of the geological survey team.  This showed the importance of active public reporting.

(4-2)【An advance group】 The stamp design showed the miners using pneumatic drill for underground tunnelling operation.

 

(4-3)【Open-cut mining】Open-cut mining is a surface mining technique of extracting minerals  from the earth by their removal from an open pit.  This technique is used when deposits of commercially useful minerals are found near the surface.  The stamp design showed a scene of open-cut mining.

(4-4)【Transportation in the pit】The stamp design showed a mining electric locomotive transporting extracted minerals in underground tunnel.

T20 – Develop the Mines  开发矿业 Issue Date: 1978.12.29
Serial Number:	T20
Scott No.:	1461-1464
Michel No.:	1471-1474
Number of stamps in Set:	4
Denomination:	4 fen for stamp 1 8 fen for stamp 2 10 fen for stamp 3 20 fen for stamp 4
Quantity of Issue:	10,000,000 for stamp 1, 2, 3, 4
Perforation:	P11 X 11½
Sheet Composition:	50（10 X 5）
Size of stamps:	40 X 30 mm
Engraver:	高品璋, 孙鸿年, 李庆发, 姜伟杰
Designer:	Shao Bolin  邵柏林
Printing Process:	Engraving combined with photogravure Gummed
Printing House:	Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

T19 -- The Developing Petroleum Industry

China is one of the earliest countries that discovered and used petroleum in the world.  Before 1949, China's petroleum industry was underdeveloped and crude oil was mainly imported from foreign countries.

After the discoveries of Daqing oilfield (Heilongjian Province) in 1959 and Shengli oilfield (Yellow River delta, Shandong Province) in 1961, China's petroleum industry started development.  As other oilfields in the countries were discovered and begun operations, the petroleum industry has made giant progress.

A set of six stamps was released on January 31, 1978, reflecting the development of the petroleum industry in China.
 

(6-1) 8 fen, Monolithic movable drilling rig  钻机整体搬家
(6-2) 8 fen, Oil extraction  采油
(6-3) 8 fen, Construction of oil field  油田建设
(6-4) 8 fen, Oil refining  炼油
(6-5) 8 fen, Oil transportation  输油
(6-6) 20 fen, Marine drilling  海上钻探

(6-1)【Monolithic mobile drilling rig】A drilling rig is a machine which creates holes in the ground, for exploration and extraction of crude oil.  The stamp showed a mobile drilling rig, which is a machine that can move from well to well, enabling mechanization of oil exploration and extraction.

(6-2)【Oil extraction】 The extraction of petroleum is the process by which crude oil is extracted and removed from the earth.  The stamp showed a near-shore oil extraction facility.

(6-3)【Construction of oil field】 Oil field construction is essential for the petroleum industry.  The stamp showed construction of  new pipe lines at Daqing oilfield.  The red piping stretching to outside the stamp field symbolizes supply of oil from the oilfield to the rest of the nation.

(6-4)【Oil refining】 Oil refining is an industrial process where crude oil is processed and refined into more useful products such as diesel fuel, gasoline, petroleum naphtha, asphalt, heating oil, kerosene, liquefied petroleum gas, etc.  The stamp showed a large, sprawling oil refining complex, with river, bridge and mountain, which enriched the stamp design. 

(6-5)【Oil transportation】 Oil transportation is an essential part of the petroleum industry.  The stamp showed a port facility built to receive, store, load and off-load oil.  Long delivery pipes are showed connecting and transferring oil to giant oil tankers offshore.

(6-6)【Marine drilling】 After Shengli oilfield begun development in 1964, it showed vast potential offshore and marine oil exploration and extraction became a new field of development.  The stamp design showed an oil rig on the right and an oil tanker at an oil rig further away.  A rising sun on the horizon symbolizes a bight future on marine oilfield development. 
 

T19 – The Developing Petroleum Industry  发展中的石油工业 Issue Date: 1978.1.31
Serial Number:	T19
Scott No.:	1365-1370
Michel No.:	1375-1380
Number of stamps in Set:	6
Denomination:	8 fen for stamp 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 20 fen for stamp 6
Quantity of Issue:	10,500,000 for stamp 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Perforation:	P11
Sheet Composition:	35 (5 X 7) for stamp 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Size of stamps:	60 X 27 mm
Designer:	Yuan Yunpu  袁运甫
Printing Process:	Photogravure
Printing House:	Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

T18 -- Workers, Peasants and Soldiers go to College

During the cultural revolution era, the college and university enrolment was stopped for five years, from 1966 to 1971.  In 1972, college and university resumed enrolment, but the entrance examination was cancelled, and nomination system was used.  Freshmen to college and university were nominated from factories, villages and military, and these were known as "worker-peasant-soldier students".  Study terms were three years, after which they returned and contributed the learned knowledge to where they came from.  This system ran until 1978 when the entrance examination was resumed.

A set of five stamps was released on September 6, 1976, reflecting the program of workers, peasants and soldiers going to college.

(5-1) 8 fen, Going to college with pride and enthusiasm  满怀豪情上大学
(5-2) 8 fen, The theory of revolution charts the course  革命理论指航向
(5-3) 8 fen, Big classroom  大课堂
(5-4) 8 fen, Scale the heights of Science  攀登科学高峰
(5-5) 8 fen, Be workers with both socialist consciousness and culture 
                     当有社会主义觉悟的有文化的劳动者

(5-1)【Going to college with pride and enthusiasm】The 1976 movie "Breaking with Old Ideas" 《决裂》tells the story of the communist idealogy clashes that happened in the Jiangxi Communist Labor College in the late 1950s where its teachers and students witness a violent rupture between two different school policies and educational methods.  This movie showed similarity with the theme of the first stamp.  The first stamp showed Worker, Peasant and Soldier going to college, with background of red flowers, red flags and big crowd showing a vibrant celebratory scene.

 

(5-2)【The theory of revolution charts the course】The stamp showed worker-peasant-soldier students studying the works of Marx, Lenin and Mao  Zedong in classroom.

(5-3)【Big classroom】The stamp showed worker-peasant-soldier students attending an open air class given by a master worker on a construction site.
 

(5-4)【Scale the heights of Science】The stamp showed worker-peasant-soldier students using a Chinese-made computer, with the computer main frame at the background.
 

(5-5)【Be workers with both socialist consciousness and culture】The stamp showed worker-peasant-soldier students return to the countryside and villages after graduation.

 

T18 – Workers, Peasants and Soldiers go to College  工农兵上大学 Issue Date: 1976.9.6
Serial Number:	T18
Scott No.:	1281-1285
Michel No.:	1291-1295
Number of stamps in Set:	5
Denomination:	8 fen for stamp 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Quantity of Issue:	8,000,000 for stamp 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Perforation:	P11½
Sheet Composition:	40 (4 X 10) for stamp 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Size of stamps:	52 X 31 mm
Designer:	Zou Jianjun  邹建军
Printing Process:	Photogravure
Printing House:	Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

T17 - In the Vast Countryside

In the 1960s, especially during the Cultural Revolutionary era, millions of middle and high school students took on Chairman Mao's call, went to rural areas all over the nation, especially remote provinces such as Heilongjiang, Nemenggo, Yunan, Xinjiang, etc.  They played important roles in cultivating and building in rural and border areas which had small population.  In 1977, the policy about building rural areas was stopped and most of the educated youth went back to their cities, except those who have married and settled down in rural areas.

To commemorate the movement, a set of six stamps was released on December 22,1976. This was the last set of stamp issued during the Culture Revolutionary era.

(6-1) 4 fen, Receiving an old hoe of Nanniwan  接过南泥湾的老镢头
(6-2) 8 fen, Educated youth teaching a peasant  读书学习
(6-3) 8 fen, The new generation transforming nature  改天换地的新一代
(6-4) 8 fen, Contributing knowledge to agriculture  把知识献给农业
(6-5) 10 fen, A new herdswoman in the grassland  草原新牧民
(6-6) 20 fen, Cultivating and guarding the frontier region to defend the motherland 
                    屯垦戍边，保卫祖国

(6-1)【Receiving an old hoe of Nanniwan】Nanniwan is a gorge about 90 km southeast of Yan'an, Shaanxi Province.  In response to economic blockades by Japanese occupation army and Kuomintang in 1941, the Communists begun experimenting with small scale agricultural development as well as poppy production at Nanniwan in a bid to become self-sufficient.  The stamp depicted a youth learning agriculture technique from an old farmer at Nanniwan, with Yan'an Pagoda Hill in the stamp background.

(6-2)【Educated youth teaching a peasant】The stamp probably depicted the scene at Xishuangbanna region, Yunnan Province.  The stamp showed an educated youth reading newsapaper, People's Daily (人民日报), to a Dai ethnic group (傣族) peasant.

(6-3)【The new generation transforming nature】The back of the stamp showed terraced fields and a blue sky.  The stamp foreground showed two youth of the communist "Youth Commando".  One youth raised a red flag, while the other shouting propaganda slogan to the farmers.

(6-4)【Contributing knowledge to agriculture】The stamp showed educated youth contributing knowledge to agriculture development in the rural areas.  This stamp is the most difficult stamp in this set as majority of the stamps were postal used.

(6-5)【A new herdswoman in the grassland】The stamp's theme was educated youth at the rural grassland regions, conferring knowledge to the herdsmen.  The stamp showed a girl happily milk feeding baby lamb on the grassland.   

(6-6)【Cultivating and guarding the frontier region to defend the motherland】Xinjiang at the northwestern China, spans over 1.6 million km² and borders Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.  Xinjiang has abundant natural resources and historically was prone to invasion by external forces.  The stamp's theme was educated youth at Xinjiang, cultivating, educating and guarding the frontier region and defending the motherland.

T17 – In the Vast Countryside  在广阔天地里 Issue Date: 1976.12.22
Serial Number:	T17
Scott No.:	1293-1298
Michel No.:	1303-1308
Number of stamps in Set:	6
Denomination:	4 fen for stamp 1 8 fen for stamp 2, 3, 4 10 fen for stamp 5 20 fen for stamp 6
Quantity of Issue:	10,000,000 for stamp 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 5,000,000 for stamp 6
Perforation:	P11½
Sheet Composition:	50 (10 X 5) for stamp 1, 3, 5 50 (5 X 10) for stamp 2, 4, 6
Size of stamps:	31 X 38.5 mm for stamp 1, 3, 5 38.5 X 31 mm for stamp 2, 4, 6
Designer:	Ye Wulin  叶武林
Printing Process:	Photogravure
Printing House:	Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works