A stamp album was issued Monday tocommemorate the centenary birth anniversary of late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping in southwest China's Sichuan Province, Deng's hometown.

The album titled "Deng Xiaoping, son of the Chinese people" was edited by the Party Literature Research Center of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and published by the CPC Literature Publishing House.

The title page of the album carries a 22-gram stamp made of gold-silver alloy symbolizing the late veteran leader's birthday on August 22. The album includes a total of 104 stamps with 100 featuring photos of Deng in various stages of his life. Many of the pictures have never been released before.

The All-China Philatelic Federation (ACPF) will sell 30,000 copies of the album globally at a price of 3,380 yuan (US$409) with three copies being permanently kept one each in the China National Museum, Capital Museum and by Deng Pufang, the late leader’s son. A total of 1,500 copies will be distributed in Sichuan Province.

ACPF invited 40 Chinese calligraphers and 10 painters and stamp designers to create 50 special artistic pieces to mark the release of the album and issued stamps featuring the pieces.

Deng, chief architect of China's reform and opening up policy, died in 1997.
 
(Xinhua News Agency June 22, 2004)