French post office, La Poste in January issued two commemorative stamps marking the Year of the Rabbit. Photo: Screenshot from website.

As the Chinese New Year approaches, many countries have issued special stamps marking the Year of the Rabbit. Chinese cultural experts said that issuing the special stamps has become a tradition in many countries, and this move shows China's enhanced international prestige.

Those born in rabbit years are said to be gentle, amicable, able to adjust readily to different conditions.
 
Not only Japan and South Korea that share similar historical and cultural background with China issued their special stamps marking the Year of the Rabbit, but also many western countries including the US, Australia, the UK and France did so as well.
 
The US Postal Service dedicated its Lunar New Year: Year of the Rabbit Forever stamp at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco in January. The stamps are made of red, pink and purple which is said to be lucky colors for individuals born during the Year of the Rabbit. Several of the patterns were created with the style of Asian textiles as well as green flowers that represent the coming of spring season, according to the Post Store of the US.
 
French post office, La Poste in January also issued two commemorative stamps marking the Year of the Rabbit. The stamps, designed by Chinese artist Chen Jianghong, are marked with "The Year of The Rabbit" characters in both Chinese and French. Featuring a crouching rabbit on a pink background, one stamp applies to the domestic mail service in France with a face value of 1.16 euro ($1.26 dollar). The other, a rabbit looking up on the background of the moon, applies to the international mail service with a denomination of 1.8 euro.
 
Yu Jinlong, a cultural critic based in Beijing told the Global Times that issuing the zodiac stamps has become a tradition in many countries in the world, and the seeds of the Spring Festival have produced colorful fruits in different parts of the world.
 
"The Chinese traditional festival has already become a global festival that people give best wishes and get good luck, and this is mainly due to China's increased national strength," said Yu.