The Nantong office of China Post holds a ceremony in celebration of new stamps commemorating the Year of the Rat on Jan 5. [Photo/ntfabu.com]

A set of commemorative stamps celebrating the Chinese New Year and the Year of the Rat were released to the public in Nantong, East China's Jiangsu province, on Jan 5.

The set, issued by China Post, features one stamp with a plump rat - a symbol of prosperity in Chinese culture - and another stamp depicting a family of three rats representing unity and happiness.

The stamps were designed by renowned artist Han Meilin, who has been designing special issues of stamps for China Post since 1980. He was also the designer of the Fuwa mascots for the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008.

China Post began issuing an annual set of postal stamps in 1980, with the stamps representing the zodiac animal that matched the year.

This year, it has also introduced augmented reality (AR) technology to promote zodiac stamps. People can scan the stamps using Alipay on their mobile phones and a rat will appear on the screen, allowing people to take photos with it.

In response to the zodiac stamps, the Nantong office of China Post also invited local craftspeople to create banyao kites and paper-cuttings in celebration of the Year of the Rat.

A folk zodiac stamp exhibition also opened on the same day and will run until Jan 7.