To commemorate the successful flight of China's first manned spacecraft, Hong Kong's Postmaster General Allan Chiang announced that Hongkong Post, China Post and Macao Post have each issued Thursday a set of two special stamps.

The two stamps issued by Hongkong Post depict "Launching" and "Orbiting" of the Shenzhou-5 spacecraft; the two stamps issued by China Post feature the "Heroic Carriage" and "Return in triumph" of the astronaut and the spacecraft, while the two stamps issued by Macao Post portray the "Ready to launch" and "Monitoring" situation.

The stamps, sold in panes of ten pieces, were designed by Wang Huming and Liu Xiangping, and printed in photogravure by Beijing Stamp Printing Factory.

To give prominence to this exhilarating event, reddish fluorescent ink is specially applied during printing to make the stamps more attractive. This distinctive printing effect can be seen under ultraviolet light.

(People's Daily October 16, 2003)