Taiwan was ceded to Japan by China in the Treaty of Shimonoseki in the 21st year of Emperor Kuang Hsu (1895) as a result of the Sino-Japanese War. For fifty years it was under Japanese control. The island was returned to China on October 25, 1945, at a ceremony held at the City Hall in Taipei. This day has since been observed as Taiwan Retrocession Day.　　There are two issues of these commemorative stamps. In the first issue the design is the map of Taiwan with the blue-sky and white-sun national flag flying above it and with two Liberty Torches on each side. The characters〝中華民國郵政〞(Postal Administration of the Republic of China) appear in a panel across the top, and immediately below this is the inscription 〝臺灣光復〞(retrocession of Taiwan). These stamps were issued on October 25, 1947, the second anniversary of the retrocession of Taiwan.　　In the second issue the City Hall of Taipei was chosen as the central design with the inscriptions〝中華民國郵政〞(Postal Administration of the Republic of China) and 〝臺灣光復〞(retrocession of Taiwan) printed in dark characters in two lines at the top and 〝臺灣中山堂〞(Taipei City Hall) printed in white characters in one line at the bottom, on the sides of which is the face value shown in Chinese characters and Arabic figures. These stamps were placed on sale on April 28, 1948.