Stamps to mark the 60th anniversary of the Chinese people's Success in the War of Resistance Against Japan (1937-45) and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the system of military rankings have been issued by the Tianjin Municipal Postal Bureau.

"The Heroic Warriors" (Fengyun Jiangshuai) includes 72 stamps, all rarely-seen vintage photos of the nine best-known marshals of the People's Liberation Army, namely Zhu De, Peng Dehuai, He Long, Liu Bocheng, Chen Yi, Luo Ronghuan, Xu Xiangqian, Nie Rongzhen, and Ye Jianying.

For each warrior featured in the album, there are eight stamps and a colour portrait created by Ma Gang, dean of the Industrial Design School of the Central Academy of Fine Arts.

Also included are seven pure gold memorial plaques, and seven gold leaf stamps of the Founding Fathers of the People's Republic of China, namely Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Zhu De, Liu Shaoqi, Ren Bishi, Deng Xiaoping, and Chen Yun, according to the Beijing Wanxiang Culture Development Co, the album's producer.

To go with the album are silk commemorative envelopes decorated with pure gold leaf insignias and signatures from family members of the nine marshals.

One set, serial number 60, has been donated to the National Museum of China, while another set, number 50, was donated to the China National Museum of Military History.

On August 15, 1945 China declared victory over the Japanese. On September 27, 1955, the system of military rankings was formally established with late Chinese leader Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai endowing certificates of military ranks and related medals for merit to the first batch of war-tempered generals and marshals of the People's Liberation Army, that was founded in 1927.

Editor: Jessie