Description: Issued by the East China People's Postal Service (華東人民郵政), this brown 5 Yuan commemorative stamp marks the conclusion of the Huaihai Campaign, one of the three decisive military engagements that determined the outcome of the Chinese Civil War. The design features a large banner bearing the portrait of Mao Zedong on the left, waving over a column of victorious People's Liberation Army soldiers. To the right, a detailed military map illustrates the campaign's strategic encirclement around Xuzhou and Bengbu, labeled with the text "淮海戰役勝利" (Victory of the Huaihai Campaign). The date "1949.1.10" at the bottom center signifies the day the campaign officially ended with a Communist victory.
Circa: 1949
Condition:
Notes:
The map on the right is surprisingly detailed for a postage stamp, depicting the Longhai Railway and the Huai River—the two geographic features that gave the campaign its name. It highlights the strategic "pocket" where Nationalist forces were encircled.
Like many "Liberated Area" stamps, these were printed on variable paper stock (often unwatermarked and porous) and issued without gum. The rough perforations seen on your copy are characteristic of the expedient production methods used during the war.
This issue was released just months before the founding of the People's Republic of China. It served as a potent propaganda tool, broadcasting the news that the path to the Yangtze River—and the Nationalist capital of Nanjing—was now open.