The Acting Postmaster General of Hong Kong Joanna Choi announced here Monday the issue of "Children Stamps -- Andersen's Fairy Tales" on March 22.
   
The set comprises four stamps featuring four popular stories from the Andersen collection. This marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Hans Christian Andersen and serves as a tribute to his contribution to children's literature.
   
The titles of the four stories and the stamp denominations are: The Ugly Duckling, The Little Mermaid, The Little Match Girl and The Emperor's New Clothes.
   
The stamps are designed by Michael Fung and printed in lithography by Joh Enschede BV, the Netherlands. The stamp design blends a Western theme with Chinese traditional paper-cutting created by Lu Xue, president of the Chinese Arts Paper cutting Association, in a unique reflection of Hong Kong's rich multicultural mosaic.
   
Lu is world renowned for her work, and her "Jiulongbi" masterpiece has been displayed in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Her Hans Christian Andersen Series consists of 112 images and has been collected by the Hans Christian Andersen Museum in Denmark.
   
Choi said, "Hong Kong Post is delighted also to recognize the great contribution that master storyteller Hans Christian Andersen has made to the world of children's literature.
   
We hope particularly that this very special children's stamp issue will encourage youngsters to read more literature and become interested in stamps as a healthy and educational hobby."

(Xinhua News Agency March 1, 2005)