After releasing Taiwan Relics Postage Stamps (Issue of 2020) last year, Chunghwa Post has released a set of four stamps for a new 2021 issue featuring the following subjects: Nankunshen Daitian Temple, Hsinchu Municipal Government Hall, Oxford College, and Magong Jinguitou Fortress. The stamps are described below:
Nankunshen Daitian Temple (NT$6): Located in the Beimen (North Gate) District of Tainan City, this temple, popularly called “Nankunshen Temple,” was built from 1817 to 1822. A bastion of Wang Ye Taoist worship in Taiwan, it features five Wang Ye deities: the lords Li, Chi, Wu, Zhu and Fan. Worship of these deities branched out from here to other areas of Taiwan and overseas, so Nankunshen's status as the “most important Wang Ye temple in Taiwan” is well deserved.
Hsinchu Municipal Government Hall (NT$8): Located in the North District of Hsinchu City, the first Hsinchu Municipal Government Hall building was finished in 1920, during the Japanese era. Because the building was insufficient to meet the city's needs, in 1925 work began on a new structure, which was finished in 1926. The brick two-story building has a mixed Japanese and Western style, with a tiled double-pitch roof formed over a wood-frame roof structure. It bears witness to the period of transition between traditional Western and modern architecture. The building currently serves as offices for the Hsinchu City Government.
Oxford College (NT$10): Located in New Taipei City's Tamsui District, this is where the Canadian Presbyterian Reverend George Leslie Mackay founded Oxford College in 1882 to cultivate missionaries, medical personnel, and educators. In 1914, Tamsui Middle School, the first Western-style school in northern Taiwan was also housed here. It served as the cradle for the future Tamkang Senior High School and Aletheia University.
Magong Jinguitou Fortress (NT$12): Located in Penghu County's Magong City, the fortress was rebuilt many times. After the Sino-French War, Taiwan Governor Liu Ming-chuan authorized “the purchase of cannons and the construction of a platform for them.” Then in 1887 commander Wu Hong-lou rebuilt four battlements for cannons in various places in Penghu, including Magong Jinguitou Fortress. The fortress is rectangular and surrounded by protective outer and inner walls, and it has two arched gates in the middle. The words inscribed above them are “Tian Nan Suo Yao” meaning a “southern strategic key and lock.”
The further information about this issue is as follows:
1. First day of issue: June 17, 2021
2. Sheet composition: 20 (4 ×5)
3. Paper used: Phosphorescent stamp paper
4. Designer: KN Creative Design Co., Ltd.
5. Printer: Cartor Security Printing (France)
6. Stamp size: 40 × 30 (mm)
7. Color: Colorful
8. Process: Offset
9. Perforation: 13×13⅓
By-issues:
(1) First Day Cover (162mm×114mm): NT$2 apiece
(2) Folder (with or without mount): NT$5 apiece
(3) Loose-leaf album page: NT$8 apiece
(4) Maximum cards: NT$40 a set
(5) Pre-cancelled FDC affixed with one NT$6-denominated stamp: NT$8 apiece
(6) Pre-cancelled FDC affixed with a full set of stamps: NT$38 apiece
(7) Pre-cancelled maximum cards: NT$76 a set
To purchase the relative philatelic products, please go directly to the post office branches, Postal Museum or order on line at https://stamp.post.gov.tw.