Year of Ox stamps launched in Fiji

Anirudha Bansod, CEO of Post Fiji, puts a postmark on the stamp and first-day cover launched in honor of the Year of the Ox at the Nausori Multicultural Center in Suva, Fiji, Feb. 8, 2021. The China Cultural Center in Fiji and Post Fiji jointly launched the Year of Ox stamps on Monday to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year which falls on Feb. 12 this year. (Xinhua/Zhang Yongxing)

SUVA, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- The China Cultural Center in Fiji and Post Fiji jointly launched the Year of Ox stamps on Monday to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year which falls on Feb. 12 this year.

For six years, the China Cultural Center in Fiji and Post Fiji have worked together on commemorative stamps for the Chinese Lunar New Year, Sun Jie, director of the China Cultural Center in Fiji, said at the launching ceremony held in the Nausori Multicultural Center, about 24 km northeast of capital city Suva.

This is an exciting year for the center as it plans for more community level engagements through cultural events like the stamp launching, he said, adding that events like this will build a bridge of goodwill between the center and the Fijian communities, and this will help promote the cultural exchanges and the friendship between China and Fiji.

For their part, Collin Yabaki, director of Fiji's Heritage and Arts Department, and Anirudha Bansod, chief executive officer of Post Fiji, congratulated the successful launch of the Year of Ox stamps, saying that such a stamp launch is a great way to get in touch with Fiji's communities and this will help strengthen the friendship between the peoples of the two countries.

According to Bian Jiang, an artist of China's Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts and the designer of the Year of Ox stamps, the backgrounds of the ox stamps are set in village, beach, cultural characteristics of Fiji and China-Fiji friendship. Through the combination of strength and warmth, they depict vigorous oxen with the unique scenery of Fiji and interprets ox's dedication to economy and its outstanding merits, such as intelligence and reliability.

The ox is the second of the 12 zodiac animals in the Chinese zodiac cycle. Enditem