Ｓｔａｍｐｓ Ｃｅｌｅｂｒａｔｅ ２００８ Ｂｅｉｊｉｎｇ Ｏｌｙｍｐｉｃｓ

As 2008 Beijing Olympic Games approaches， countries across the world have issued various stamps in celebration of the world sports gala. Here are some stamps about the dream of One World， One Dream.

Since the 2008 Beijing Olympic mascots of Fuwas were launched， the China Post has issued series of stamps featuring the Olympic emblem， the mascots， sporting events， sports venues， and torch relays. The Beijing Olympic Games is an unprecedented event in China and the stamps in celebration of this historical occasion are also unprecedented for the China Post.

The 2008 Beijing Olympic emblem highlights a dancing figure， which combines the 5，000-year-old Chinese seal engraving art and calligraphy with sports. The figure is ingeniously designed to look like a runner in a dash toward victory. The figure looks like the Chinese character 京， signifying the national capital of China. Fuwas are mascots based on the images of fish， panda， Tibetan antelope， swallow and Olympic flame.

If the emblem and Fuwas embody the charms of the Chinese tradition and folk arts， the Bird’s Nest (the national stadium) symbolizes the China’s achievement in reform and opening up to the outside world. The central stamp in the souvenir sheet is a bird’s view of the giant stadium. The stamp takes the shape of a pentagon. Architecturally， the Bird’s Nest embodies the porcelain grains and hollow-cutting， both popular signs in typical Chinese culture. Built with the cutting-edge architecture technology， the stadium is a landmark that symbolizes Beijing’s historical significance.It is also a creative landmark in the history of international architecture.

The China Post released a souvenir sheet on March 24， 2008 when the Olympic flame was lit at the ancient Olympic site in Greek. The two Chinese stamps signify two moments: lighting and the torch relay.

More than 120 countries and regions have released stamps in celebration of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Never has any previous Olympic Games attracted such great postal attention since the first series of Olympic stamps in 1896. What’s also unprecedented is that all the stamps issued by the 120 plus countries and regions bear the Olympic rings or the Beijing Olympic Emblem.

Russia issued a souvenir sheet of three stamps to celebrate the Beijing Olympic Games. On the sheet are the Olympic rings which look like holiday lights and the Chinese cultural symbols such as the Great Wall， the Huangshan Mountain and the Forbidden City.

The stamps issued by Croatia presents the images of sports events such as shooting， weight-lifting， basketball playing and long-distance running. All these events are depicted in the seal script， a traditional Chinese calligraphic style.

Australia issued a souvenir sheet of 10 stamps， depicting a large oriental dragon. The four stamps issued by Azerbaijan depict judo， weight-lifting， wrestling and boxing in abstract lines against a backdrop of Chinese ancient sporting events. A two-stamp series issued by Serbia displays the image of a female tennis player and the image of a Chinese hurdler. The four stamps issued by the Isle of Man outlines archery， horsemanship， bicycle and the Olympic torch against a background of Chinese terra-cotta warriors， bronze carriage-and-horse， the Great Wall and the Bird’s Nest. The stamp issued by Aland Islands of Finland is most unique. In the shape of a triangle， the stamp displays six smiling faces in five colors， resembling the colors of the Olympic rings. The souvenir sheet contains 36 stamps arranged in a way that all the faces constitute a crowd of spectators in a stadium.#8194;□