Stamps set to mark Year of Rooster

Chinese have a special affinity for roosters because their silhouette resembles the shape of China on a map.

Han, 80, who is well known for his paintings and sculptures, said he is passionate about the world, children and animals, despite the fact that he is getting older.

It is the third time that he has accepted the invitation to design Lunar New Year stamps.

A sheet of 32 stamps with a face value of 38.4 yuan costs about 150 yuan on the company's website, while a private business on Taobao, a popular shopping website in China, is selling the stamp sets for 25 yuan.

The newspaper quoted a senior stamp collector as saying that the value of the rooster stamp set is less than the monkey stamp set issued the previous year.

The rooster is the 10th Chinese zodiac in a 12-year cycle, with the previous Year of the Rooster being in 2005.

The coming Year of the Rooster starts on Jan 28, 2017, which is Chinese Lunar New Year Day, and ends on Feb 15, 2018.

The rooster is said to be the epitome of fidelity and punctuality, as it was used to awaken people for centuries before alarm clocks were invented.