the place where Paleontology and Paleoanthropology meets Philately
Hong Kong
Dinosaurs and fossil-found places on stamps and postmarks of Hong Kong
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Contents
- Country overview
- Philately at Hong Kong
- Official stamps of Hong Kong related to Paleontology
- Other stamps of Hong Kong to consider
- Commemorative postmarks of Hong Kong related to Paleontology
- References
Hong Kong, officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, is an autonomous territory south to Mainland China at the Pearl River Estuary of the Asia Pacific. With a total land area of 1,106 square kilometres and a population of over 7.3 million of various nationalities, it ranks as the world's fourth most densely populated sovereign state or territory. After the First Opium War (1839–42), Hong Kong became a British colony with the perpetual cession of Hong Kong Island, followed by the Kowloon Peninsula in 1860 and a 99-year lease of the New Territories from 1898. Hong Kong was later occupied by Japan during the Second World War until British control resumed in 1945. In the early 1980s, negotiations between the United Kingdom and China resulted in the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration, which paved way for the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong in 1997, when it became a Special Administrative Region with a high degree of autonomy.
Under the principle of "one country, two systems",Hong Kong maintains a separate political system from China. Except in military defence and foreign affairs, Hong Kong maintains its independent executive, legislative and judiciary powers. In addition, Hong Kong develops relations directly with foreign states and international organisations in a broad range of appropriate fields [R1]
The postal system in Hong Kong began in 1841 when the Royal Mail established an office in the region. On 8 December 1862, the Office issued the first set of Hong Kong postage stamps. Hong Kong formerly produced postage stamps with the name Hong Kong, after the Hong Kong's transfer of sovereignty to China, all further issues bore the name Hong Kong, China; British Hong Kong postage stamps were no longer valid for the prepayment of postage, nor did the Post Office offer to repurchase them. [R2]
Official stamps of Hong Kong related to Paleontology: dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals
| 20.02.2014
"Chinese
Dinosaurs" |
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Other stamps to consider: Natural History Museums, fossil found places
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24.07.2014 "4th Definitive set" [A2] |
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| 04.12.2014 "World Heritage in China Series No. 3: China Danxia" [A3] | 01.01.2018 "Definitive set" [A5] |
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Notes:
[A1]
The stamp with face value of
$1.80 shows "Science
Museum".The Museum had its grand opening on 18 April 1991. In January 2000, Leisure and Cultural Services Department is set up to replace the Urban Council and the Regional Council to oversee the operation of the Hong Kong Science Museum and all the government museums, taking the development of Hong Kong's museums into a new era.
The Life Sciences Exhibition Hall illustrates the wonders of life. It covers different aspects of life sciences including prehistoric life, structures of human bodies and functions of the organs, bones of human being as well as different animals, include dinosaurs, conventional and contemporary concepts in medical sciences, etc. Visitors could explore the mysteries of life sciences through these exhibits.
Personalized "FDC" with dinosaurs illustration, issued 6 weeks after the stamps release, red mark on the bottom side, depicting Tricaratops, used for decoration purpose only - it is not a postmark.
[A2] These stamps shows various Geo-Conservation landscapes of the country. One of these stamps (face value $2.20) shows some location well known as Devonian fossils found place in the country.
It is no petrified wood, but a rock depicting on the stamp.
[A3] Danxia Mountain has a long development history with plentiful scenses and sights of cultural interest. Our ancestors used to live near Danxia Mountain long time ago. Skull fossils of famous Maba Man found in the southwest of Danxia basin.
[A4] Plant, pollen and insect fossils found in the Ping Chau Formation comprise a Late Cretaceous to Tertiary assemblage. While some organisms could have appeared as early as the Late Cretaceous, until their extinction in the Tertiary, some of the plant fossils are Tertiary index fossils (i.e. they are confined to the Tertiary). Hence, these index fossils enable the Ping Chau Formation to be assigned an Early Tertiary age.
[A5] These new definitive stamps are defined by the original designs of the 2014 Definitive Stamps that feature unique geo-attractions of the Hong Kong UNESCO Global Geopark, and portray Ma Shi Chau, Yan Chau and Fa Shan.
At least one of these stamps can be consider as fossil fund place.
The rock formation at Ma Shi Chau contains a variety of fossils such as crinoids, brachipods, pteropods and corals. From these fossils, geologists have determined that the rock layers formed during the Permian peri od, about 270 million years before present.
Commemorative postmarks of Hong Kong related to Paleontology: dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals
| 20.02.2014 "Chinese Dinosaurs" [FDC] | ||
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Reference
[R1] More information about Hong Kong are on Wikipedia WikiTravel Flag Counter[R2] More information about philatelic history of Hong Kong are on Wikipedia
Links to Hong Kong post authority and stamps catalog websites are here
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