A staff member holds the COVID19-themed stamps and the envelope at a Shanghai post office on Monday. Photo: Chen Xia/GT

China Post on Monday issued a set of COVID-19-themed stamps as a mark of reverence for Chinese people's solidarity in the battle against the coronavirus. 

The collection depicts images of People's Liberation Army commanders, medics, scientific researchers, community workers, police and volunteers, using a Chinese character "Zhong" literally meaning "mass" to connect the two stamps, which implies that people nationwide, under the strong Party leadership, are standing together in the face of a major public health crisis. 

It's extremely meaningful to use the stamps to "recognize the contribution made by people from different walks of life and show China's spirit of solidarity in the fight against the COVID-19," Li Qian, deputy general manager of stamp collection and cultural media department of the Shanghai branch of China Post, told the Global Times on Monday, noting that all the proceeds of the stamps and related items will be donated to the fight against the epidemic.

As of 7:00 am on Monday, the waiting area of Shanghai's General Post Office Building was thronged by stamp enthusiasts, with some even waiting all night for the COVID-19-themed stamps. 

An 82-year-old stamp collector surnamed Xie, who has been accumulating stamps for the past 40 years, became the first to get the new COVID-19-themed stamps in the Shanghai post office. 

"The stamps issued during this unique time is very meaningful to fight against the COVID-19 epidemic," Xie told the Global Times on Monday, noting that commemorative stamps marking the triumph over SARS were also issued during that period. Xie and his companions had been standing in the queue since Sunday, 7:00 am. 

Each set contains two stamps for a price of 2.4 yuan ($0.33). Related commemorative  envelops were also issued on the same day. Residents can purchase both online and offline. China Post plans to issue 14.5 million stamps.

It's worthwhile to mention that China Post has postponed its previous plan to issue the stamps on April 7 and refrained from disclosing any reason. 

Netizens predicted that the decision might be due to the design of the stamps.