Visitors look at the rare stamps displayed at a grand philatelic exhibition. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

"In addition to the stamps from 32 industry associations from the provinces, municipalities and regions in the mainland, the exhibits include stamps from Hong Kong and Macao," Xu told the opening ceremony.

The stamps on display include those rare ones that were issued in the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) and the Minguo period (1912-49).

The total exhibits have an estimated value of more than 500 million yuan ($71.43 million).