A set of stamps devoted to nurses in the nation will be issued in south China's Guangdong Province to commemorate the International Nurse's Day, which falls this Wednesday.

The 16 piece set depicts nurses in uniform. The highlight of the edition is the fighting SARS heroine Ye Xin, who won the 39th Nightingale Award, the top honor in international nursing.

Designed by the Guangdong provincial health department and postal bureau, the issue will be limited to 50 thousand sets.

In addition, nurses in the province will join in a variety of activities to mark the annual Nurse's Day, May 11th.

Guangdong was one of the most SARS-hit areas in China last spring. Many nurses contracted the disease when caring for SARS patients and some even lost their lives.

By the end of last year, there were over 100 thousand nurses in the province, making up some one third of the total number of health care staff.

(CRI.com May 12, 2004)