China.org.cn , February 15, 2022
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Old memories of Zhang Guofan's design
As new designs emerged for the new year, classic designs by artists of AADTHU also became a hot topic for the Year of the Tiger.
About 36 years ago, Shao Bolin, then the chief designer of the Stamp Distribution Bureau of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications of China, led a team to collect designs for the Year of the Tiger in 1986. As a result, a nationwide contest was held for the first time.
AADTHU Professor Zhang Guofan's design stood out from numerous submitted works, and he became the designer of the first set of tiger stamps issued by China Post. Then he successively designed the first-day cover, a stamp booklet, a commemorative medal, postcards, and a desk calendar. It was the most complete group of zodiac stamp products at the time.
Zhang's designs brightened people's minds and remain deeply remembered by people of that era, especially stamp collectors. The little tiger on the stamp is both majestic and cute. It manifests the clumsy and straightforward characteristics of folk paper-cutting and cloth tigers and absorbs modern elements. It has since become a classic design of zodiac stamps.