People line up to buy a special stamp featuring a celadon ceramic piece from Longquan on June 12. [Photo/WeChat account: wxlishui]

The launch ceremony for a special stamp featuring a celadon ceramic piece from Longquan – a county-level city administered by Lishui city in East China's Zhejiang province – was held in Longquan on Cultural and Natural Heritage Day on June 12.

The featured piece is a green glazed plate engraved with chrysanthemum petals produced in a Longquan kiln during the Song Dynasty (960-1279).

The object was found on the Nanhai No 1, a sunken merchant vessel from the Song Dynasty, which was loaded with porcelain ware and entirely recovered from the South China Sea in 2007.

Its finding confirmed the important historical status of Longquan celadon in the development of the Maritime Silk Road.

Longquan has been promoting the further protection, utilization, and passing down of its celadon and sword culture in recent years in an effort to relive its glory days.

The stamp was included in a new set of stamps called "Cultural Relics Along the Silk Road II", issued by China Post that same day. The set is made up of four stamps, each featuring a different cultural artifact, and each stamp has a face price of 1.2 yuan (19 cents).