The Ministry of Information and Communications, Vietnam Post Corporations in association with Khanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee has recently issued "Barringtonia asiatica" stamp set.
The Ministry of Information and Communications, Vietnam Post Corporations in association with Khanh Hoa Provincial People’s Committee has recently issued “Barringtonia asiatica” stamp set.
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| “Barringtonia asiatica” stamps and image of Spratly Post Office in 1988. |
From “Spratly and Paracel archipelagos” stamp set
The stamps about seas and islands, especially the ones themed on the Spratly and Paracel Islands, have been very attractive to the stamp collectors. On January 19, 1988, the General Department of Post Office released “Spratly and Paracel archipelagos” stamp set with two designs drawn by painter Tran Luong. One design bears the image of a boat with three sails and a navy soldier of Nguyen Dynasty who is holding an oar in one hand and blowing the horn made of sea snail. At the bottom of the stamp, bold worlds “Doi Hoang Sa the ky XVII, XVIII” (the Spratly Squad in 17th, 18th century). The other design has two images of ancient maps. “On the left of the stamp is the map of the Spratly and Paracel archipelagos drawn by Dutch navigator Jan Huyghen van Linschoten (1563 - 1611); on the right is the map of Vietnam in the Nguyen Dynasty named “Dai Nam nhat thong toan do”, including 29 islands of the Spratly and Paracel Islands,” said stamp collector Pham Khanh Hong.
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| “Barringtonia asiatica” stamp set released in Nha Trang on April 2, 2016. |
According to Pham Khanh Hong, two months after the stamp set was released, Gregon Schwirtz, a stamp collector from German Democratic Republic, expressed his wish to buy this set of stamps together with the postmark of the Spratly Post Office (established in Cam Ranh in 1985). According to the agreement of the Department of Propaganda and Training under provincial Party Committee, the provincial Post Office sent Gregon Schwirtz the “Spratly and Paracel archipelagos” stamp set stuck on an envelope bearing the postmark of the Spratly Post Office. After receiving the items, Gregon Schwirtz wrote a thank-you letter to the provincial Post Office, in which he showed his interest on the problems happening on the two archipelagos at that time as well as his wish for peace for Vietnam. “The fact that the stamp set about the Spratly and Paracel Islands was sent to a foreigner in 1988, not long since it was issued, has a great meaning in partly asserting Vietnam’s sovereignty over the two islands,” Hong added.
To “Barringtonia asiatica” stamp set
On the occasion of the 41st anniversary of Liberation Day of Nha Trang – Khanh Hoa, the “Barringtonia asiatica” stamp set, designed by painters Nguyen Du and Do Lenh Tuan, was issued on April 2 in Nha Trang City. The set of stamps, including two stamps and one block, features the beauty and vitality of the barringtonia asiatica tree which is like the unyielding of the soldiers and civilians on the Spratly Islands. Reportedly, in order to design this stamp set, at the end of 2015, painter Do Lenh Tuan went to Khanh Hoa Province to observe the flowering barringtonia asiatica trees.
Beside releasing the stamp set themed on barringtonia asiatica tree, the postal industry also sell some items for stamp collection, such as postcards about the Spratly and barringtonia asiatica, FDC, and stock books.
The barringtonia asiatica tree (recorded in Vietnam Red Data Book) has been considered as the symbol of the Spratly Islands. Therefore, using images of barringtonia asiatica to design the stamp set shows the love of the whole country towards the Spratly Island District.
Xuan Thanh
Translated by H.N
